Lots of people have been talking about the green shoots starting
to emerge in the economy. Some are even saying – boldly,
let's hope not rashly – that the worst is behind us.
If the Aim index and the value of Aim secondary fundraisings are
anything to go by, however, there may be some merit in what we are
being told.
What is clear is that the Aim of the future is going to be
fundamentally different from the Aim of the past. Gone are the days
of small start-ups seeking a quick admission to Aim raising a few
hundred thousand pounds. This is just not the sort of investment
the institutions are looking for these days. In the last nine
months, we have seen the Aim index up by a staggering 64% (that
means it has risen a third faster than the FTSE over this period)
and the average company on Aim is now worth £38m.
