Increased IPOs could herald market comeback
AN increase in initial public offerings (IPO) on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the last quarter may signal the start of a market recovery, research suggested yesterday, despite the summer months being a traditionally quieter period for listings.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said listings on Aim increased from 10 in the second quarter, worth a total of £133m, to 12 in the last quarter with a value of £175m. Five of the listings launched in September, while four were launched in July and three in August. This compared with a more traditional decline in main market listings over the summer where there were 20 IPOs with a combined value of £1,410m, compared with 27 listings with a value of £2,529m in the second quarter.
David Snell, a partner at PwC, said: “The increase in offering value and number of IPOs since the last quarter is positive and could signal the beginning of a recovery on Aim.”