The LSE shows commitment to the AIM market

It was sponsored by the London Stock Exchange and we were delighted that the LSE’s CEO, Xavier Rolet attended. He was joined by the Deutsche Borse CEO, Cartsen Kengeter. The LSE and Deutsche Borse are in the middle of merging. Everything has been agreed and regulatory approvals are being sought. From our point of view the presence of these illustrious guests was testimony to the LSE’s commitment to the AIM market and smaller companies generally. The merger documents promise continuing investment in AIM and there is an intention to expand AIM-type markets across Europe, including Germany. This has been reiterated by both Xavier and Carsten in a number of meetings that we have had with them and their colleagues. This commitment is extremely important for small companies. These businesses need to move away from a reliance on bank debt and raise permanent capital from issuing equity to provide a solid base for growth. The AIM market has done this successfully for the last 21 years. Many companies in the region have benefited from this. They have been able to raise capital when they have IPO’d and have been able to raise further capital from investors later as their companies develop and grow. It is more important than ever that this equity facility continues. A listing provides a kitemark of confidence for companies when speaking to customers, suppliers and their banks, as well as access to finance. Without this avenue, I believe, we would not be able to create the growth and employment and the exports needed to maintain a thriving economy. Our entrepreneurs need to be able to move from seed capital, through scale-up capital to private equity (perhaps) and on to public markets to be able to become true world-beaters. Our speaker at the dinner was Fraser Doherty MBE. Otherwise known as Jam Boy. He is under 30 years of age. His biography is impressive to say the least… “Fraser Doherty set up SuperJam at 14, using his Grandma’s jam recipes. After selling his produce at farmers markets and to delicatessens, he developed a method of producing jam 100 per cent from fruit. “After setting up production, creating a brand and perfecting his recipes, Fraser became the youngest ever supplier to a major supermarket chain when Waitrose launched the range in March 2007. “SuperJam now supplies over 2,000 supermarkets around the world (including Tesco, Asda Wal-Mart, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose) in countries including Australia, Russia, Denmark, Finland and Ireland.” After he spoke a number of people were left wondering what they had done with their own lives after hearing from such an enthusiastic and such a young entrepreneur. I don’t know whether Fraser will ever need the stockmarket to achieve his goals. But it is important that he and others have that choice and that the markets they can choose are the best that they can be. To mix a metaphor our entrepreneurs need to be able to have their equity cake and eat it, preferably with a jam filling.