[blippage]

I just skimmed the docs, but I heard about it a few days ago. Noteworthy points: * it's not a way for companies to raise capital * not much in the way of regulation. Main UK listings are quite rigorous. The UK has an AIM market, in which a company is sponsored by a broker. It's a "junior" market. It's very wild-west, and the long-term performance has been bad. That's mostly because the constituents are some of the biggest piles of garbage imaginable. There are some high-quality ones, though * Trading is infrequent, like once a quarter or something. * It's mainly designed for professional investors and and "eligible" investors (you'll probably need liquid assets of at least £1m to qualify) * I think it's intended for small companies to get used to public scrutiny, with a view that they will get a proper listing

I think the Tory gov't had mooted such a scheme, but nothing materialised. Labour has implemented it. I'm a critic of Labour supporter, but I suppose I should at least give them some kudos for trying. My more impartial evaluation is that I don't think it will provide much value.

Interestingly, there used to exist another public exchange for UK shares outside LSE (London Stock Exchange) - maybe its PLUS or OFEX that I'm thinking about - but they closed down now. It was pretty cruddy from what little I saw, with gigantic spreads.

The tiddly exchanges don't really make much sense IMV. Why would I want to invest in companies that are likely to be pretty junky, are unlikely to treat their external shareholders fairly, have dubious corporate governance, and enormous spreads? I could buy into much higher-quality companies on LSE.

Just my 2c. * It's a five-year trial, whereupon the results will be evaluated.

[scrlk]

Certain AIM listed shares are/were quite popular as an inheritance tax mitigation (hold for 2 years and receive 100% inheritance tax relief).

[nobodywillobsrv]

Sounds like the 2024 budget is attacking AIM IHT relief as well ... another nail in the coffin for the UK. I only used grok but it said relief is only 50% now.

[thom]

I think it’s less about companies getting ready for scrutiny (although that’d be a great side effect) and more about giving angels and other early stage investors better access to secondary capital so they can reinvest the proceeds. The UK is not awash with liquidity right now.