Grant Thornton UK LLP is a leading financial and business adviser with over 4,250 partners and staff operating from 30 locations nationwide. The firm has an unrivalled track record in advising AIM-listed companies, or those seeking to be listed, built up over the 14 years that the market has been in existence.
As a result of the firm investing time in understanding the needs of AIM companies, it is retained by 250 UK and overseas AIM-listed companies – more than any other adviser. Grant Thornton is the leading auditor and reporting accountant to AIM companies, of which it advises 200. It is the leading independent nominated adviser to AIM and has executed 190 AIM mandates. Its 65 retained clients have raised £1.5 billion in the past 12 months.
As the UK member of Grant Thornton International, one of the world’s leading international organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms, Grant Thornton UK can offer clients access to professional advice delivered by other Grant Thornton International firms from around 520 offices in over 110 countries.
Sponsors
Evolution Securities is one of the leading and most active advisers and brokers in the UK to small-cap and mid-cap companies who are either seeking to list or already listed on the Official List or AIM.
We provide corporate finance and corporate broking advice, equity research, institutional sales and trading, market-making and fixed-income research and execution.
FinnCap is a client focused independent broker to growing companies. Our team has a strong track record in advising and raising capital, providing research and after market care for growing companies.
Our Institutional Broking team provides a dedicated, bespoke agency broking service to fund managers and private client brokers.
We encourage long-term relationships with our clients and aim to add value by providing information, execution skills and advice in our market. We develop made to measure solutions to meet the individual needs of each of our clients.
As specialists in the small cap sector we understand the particular needs of this market and we offer consistent senior team involvement throughout the process.
First Flight is a specialist provider of non-executive directors. We have one of the largest non-exec databases in the UK, supported by discreet executive search and focused advertising. This allows us to identify the most appropriate candidates and turn round projects rapidly, providing a fast and specialised service with competitive fees. We have also pioneered the use of non-execs in developing entrepreneurial companies and source candidates for an exciting range of MBI and BIMBO transactions.
KBC Peel Hunt is the London-based UK equities arm of KBC Group, and offers corporate clients a complete service, including corporate finance, corporate broking, sales and trading. KBC Group is a leading European banking and insurance group.
London Stock Exchange Group is Europe’s leading diversified exchange business, incorporating Borsa Italiana and London Stock Exchange. With over 500 member firms and more than 3,000 companies quoted across its markets, the Group operates the largest and most liquid equity marketplace in Europe. AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s growth market, has grown to become the world’s most successful market for small and medium-sized enterprises, with 1,385 companies at the end of July 2009.
Millnet is the UK’s leading provider of electronic and paper document production and review for the financial and legal sectors. The range of services offered extends from digital print and distribution, scanning and e-bibles to leading-edge solutions for virtual data rooms and electronic document review. Millnet has a demonstrable track record of producing essential time-critical documents in circumstances that are generally very demanding. In the financial markets, Millnet is the financial document specialist of choice.
Pinsent Masons is ranked in the top 15 law firms, with over 280 partners and a total legal team of around 1,000 lawyers. We are ranked number one according to number of AIM clients and number four by total number of stock market clients (Hemscott).
We have an extensive record gained from advising on a number of AIM and Main Market admissions and act for nomads and brokers as well as for companies seeking an admission. We have acted for a number of non-UK clients and are experienced in dealing with the issues that can arise.
Our quoted company specialists are drawn from our large national corporate group, which comprises some 100 lawyers including over 40 partners. These lawyers work with clients at the forefront of their strategic development advising on mergers, acquisitions, disposals, flotations, takeovers, take-privates, buy-ins and buy-outs, investments and secondary fundraisings.
PLUS Markets Plc (PLUS) is a new stock exchange for London and currently the second largest growth market in Europe by number of companies quoted. It is focused on growth companies, both domestically and internationally. As a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE), PLUS offers a full range of services for companies, funds and market professionals, in particular providing access to London’s vibrant and liquid capital markets for growth companies seeking equity funding.
In all, some 9,000 securities trade on PLUS, including all AIM stocks from August 2009, as well as the most liquid London- and European-listed shares.
Redleaf is a communications agency focused on helping its clients communicate efficiently and effectively with their key stakeholders – we are advisers not box-tickers. Our communications programmes are designed to address our clients’ specific business requirements. We create tailor-made programmes using tactics such as media relations, investor relations, social media, community engagement and internal communications. Our aim is to help our clients to maximise the value of their company and its brand equity, to protect their reputation, and to attract and retain customers, investors, employees and stakeholders. Redleaf was voted Financial PR Agency of the Year 2009 in the Growth Company Investor Awards.
Religare Hichens, Harrison plc. (RHH) is a part of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) – a leading integrated financial services group out of India. Hichens, Harrison & Co. plc. (HH), established in 1803, is London’s oldest independent Brokerage and Investment firm with a global footprint. Post being acquired through REL’s indirect subsidiary-Religare Capital Markets International (UK) Limited, HH has been rechristened as Religare Hichens Harrison plc (RHH).
Further, powered by this acquisition and seamless integration, the group now envisions establishing RHH as a globally scalable business of excellence. RHH is an authorised and regulated broker for companies traded on the AIM Market, a PLUS Markets member broker-dealer, a PLUS Markets member corporate adviser and a member of the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
Currently, the principal areas of activity for RHH are – investment banking, institutional broking and sales, corporate broking, corporate finance, etc.
Founded in 1985, Shore Capital has become one of London’s leading independent investment banking boutiques specialising in equity capital market activities and investment in alternative assets.
The ECM division offers a wide range of services for companies, institutions and other sophisticated clients including corporate finance, stockbroking and market-making.
Shore Capital Ltd manages specialist funds, with a particular focus on alternative asset classes, while Shore Capital International Ltd provides investment banking and asset management services in Germany and Eastern Europe.
The Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) represents the UK's small and mid-cap quoted companies. This sector is defined as those 2,000 companies that are quoted in the UK outside of the FTSE 350. The QCA promotes the interests and views of its members to Government, Europe, regulators and other professional bodies, educates its members on best practices and provides a vital forum for networking. Celebrating 18 years in 2010, the QCA forms its views through highly focused committees and working groups, made up of directors and professional advisors from across the small and mid-cap quoted company sector. For more information, please visit: www.quotedcompaniesalliance.co.uk.
Winterflood is one of AIM’s leading market-makers. In fact, we have been supporting the smaller company sector since we first started trading over 20 years ago. Today, we also trade in all UK securities with the EU and North American markets offering a one-stop trading solution to institutional investors, broker dealers and international banks.
Winterflood has two of the leading electronic trading platforms in the UK:
Winner, our internal exchange, provides immediate and simple access to our extensive principal liquidity, giving significant reduction in transaction costs by saving exchange and MTF fees.
Win-X is our pan-European DMA order routing platform, which has been created to satisfy client demand. It allows connections to lit and dark order books with exclusive access to our internal liquidity consistently giving price improvement over the home market including access to the leading MTFs via a smart order router.
However, we still value personal relationships and have a team of highly skilled sales traders to handle care or managed orders.
