There are increasingly loud whispers that some of the larger companies on AIM have started to think seriously about a move up to the Main Market at the same time as some of the smaller companies on the Main Market are beginning to look at a move to AIM. If true, this game of musical chairs could deliver some positive outcomes for the markets.
While the movement from one market to the other appears to be happening in an organic way and on a small scale, it is a trend that the London Stock Exchange could seize and actively encourage to realign and reinvigorate the markets.
Currently, around 38 percent of companies on the Main Market have a market cap below £200 million which means they have onerous compliance and reporting requirements, but aren’t achieving the visibility and liquidity benefits of a Main Market listing. At the same time, around 14 percent of AIM companies have a market cap over £200 million – sufficient for a Main Market listing which would most likely increase their share price as well as secure them a stronger position to negotiate terms with banks etc. There is plenty of scope for a significant shake-up which would see these companies swap places and find themselves on the market which would best serve their needs.
By removing AIM’s bigger companies to the Main Market, AIM can be repositioned as a true growth market with a good mix of businesses that are able to shine more visibly when not overshadowed by the larger corporate beasts. While I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest a league table (like football) where companies are promoted up and demoted down, something along those lines that incorporates a bit of dynamism, might attract more investor interest to both markets.
Since July this year, two AIM UK 50 companies – Ashtead Technology Holdings PLC and Johnson Service Group, have moved to the Main Market and Pan African Resources Plc publicly announced its intention to move from AIM to the London Main Market in September to “enhance the Company’s corporate profile and broaden the Company’s access to a wider pool of UK and global investors, supporting its next phase of growth.” The increase in the price of gold has had a massive impact on the company’s share price which will most likely catapult it straight into the FTSE 250. However, it is not the only one considering a switch. There are also a number of companies on the Main Market that are having quiet conversations with their advisers about a move to AIM for a variety of sensible reasons. Many feel they are at a visibility disadvantage because they are excluded from inclusion in investment funds due to their size or nature of their business. A move to AIM could offer them greater visibility and attractiveness to investors by dint of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
These companies are pioneers – the first to recognise that there needs to be a bigger shake-up in the markets to get companies to where they should be. The LSE could encourage this re-jig by resetting the rules that redefine the two markets; clarifying their purpose, benefits and drawbacks to not only ensure that companies are on the right market to achieve visibility, but that when companies succeed and achieve a certain size, there is encouragement to move up. But also down. Ensuring that the number of Public Interest Entities currently on the Main Market but with a market cap less than £200m, move to AIM would be a great start.
A redrawing of the boundaries would also be helpful for investors to better understand the nature of their investments whether in a revenue generating entrepreneurial mid-cap company, or industry giant with a consistently solid share price.
The Government could step-in to support the revival of AIM as a growth market with a recalibration of the tax incentives in terms of how and where you invest. In addition, it could break new ground with the creation of a UK Government supported tracker-style “growth” fund with tax benefits – along the lines of a stocks & shares ISA – to enable the general public to invest directly in a range of UK registered AIM companies. That would kill two birds with one stone by encouraging UK economic growth at the same time as fostering a broader investment culture in the UK populace. (If you think that’s a good idea, please contact me on LinkedIn to let me have your thoughts!)
While we wait for the long-awaited revival of the London market, a reboot of the senior and junior markets’ make-up and boundaries would go a long way to making both more attractive to investors.
This article was originally published in the October 2025 AIM Advisers Rankings Guide. For more information, please contact Joseph Archer.
