AIM, which stands for Alternative Investment Market, celebrates its 30th anniversary on 19 June this year, after launching in 1995.
Back then, there were just 10 companies listed on AIM, with a combined valuation of £82 million.
Today, the figure is 679 – although at its peak, 1,694 companies were listed on AIM in 2007.
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A sub-market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), AIM is home to small and medium-sized companies looking to raise money, who might not meet the listing requirements of the main market.
According to the LSE, “AIM is the most active growth market in Europe, and over the last five years, 45% of all capital raised on European growth markets has been on AIM”.
However, while some investors have done very well by buying certain AIM stocks – or perhaps within an investment fund – the market is considered to be high risk and volatile, and there have been some disasters along the way over the past three decades.
Notable examples include Quindell, Purplebricks, and Affinity Internet, which faced issues like accounting irregularities, missing funds and eventual collapse.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, comments: “AIM has been called the ‘Wild West’ in the past and has had its fair share of disasters, yet it would be wrong to call the entire market a failure. It was designed to nurture growing companies, and the achievements of Hiscox and Genus prove it has been successful.”
The insurer Hiscox is now a FTSE 100 company, while genetics group Genus has ascended to the ranks of the FTSE 250.
“Anyone who bought Hiscox at its AIM IPO would have subsequently enjoyed a 2,650% total return, which factors in share price gains and dividends,” says Coatsworth.
He adds that investment trust Athelney Trust also made the move from being an AIM early bird to joining the main market.
AIM comes with some tax advantages, for example you can invest via an AIM ISA, while some AIM shares benefit from business property relief, meaning no inheritance tax is due provided the investment is held for at least two years. However, the tax relief will be cut from April 2026, meaning investors will be liable for 20% inheritance tax.
“While AIM’s 30th anniversary has been clouded by talk of how the market is shrinking fast, there are still reasons to celebrate its achievements. A good chunk of AIM’s original members have gone on to score a winning goal for investors’ portfolios,” says Coatsworth.
According to AJ Bell, 11 companies that joined AIM in its first six months of existence are still on the UK stock market today. Three of these companies are now on the main market, leaving eight on AIM.
Investors could have made significant returns with one of the “early bird” AIM stocks, while four of the companies have posted a negative total return over the past 30 years.
How have the original AIM stocks performed since 1995?
AJ Bell crunched the numbers to show how the eight AIM stocks that were listed in 1995 and still on the market today have performed over the past 30 years.
| Row 0 - Cell 1 | |
Company | Total return |
Wynnstay Properties | 6,331% |
NWF | 920% |
IG Design (called International Greetings when AIM was created) | 121% |
Eco Animal Health (previously called Lawrence) | 80% |
Journeo (previously called Toad) | -75% |
Westmount Energy | -77% |
Proteome Sciences (previously called Electrophoretics International) | -98% |
Bezant Resources (previously called Voss Net) | -99% |
Source: AJ Bell, LSEG. Total return since respective IPO date in 1995 until 12 June 2025.
The best performer among those still quoted on AIM is Wynnstay Properties, which has delivered an astonishing 6,331% total return.
“Its history lies in developing and managing residential property in London’s Kensington area, but it switched to commercial property in 1972. While the business is still relatively small compared to many real estate stocks on the London Stock Exchange, the rich returns for investors speak for themselves,” comments Coatsworth.
The second-best performer is NWF. “Supplying animal feed to farmers and filling up domestic heating tanks with oil might not sound very glamorous, but it’s been a ticket to steady wealth creation for NWF. A 920% total return since joining AIM in September 1995 is not to be sniffed at,” says Coatsworth.
“AIM has been a good place for small companies to broaden their shareholder base and tap capital markets to accelerate their growth. NWF has made various bolt-on acquisitions over the past three decades, some of which have been part-funded by issuing new shares.”
At the bottom of the table, four companies have all made a loss over 30 years. Exploration company Bezant Resources has performed the worst, losing 99%.
The investment platform Interactive Investor also recently analysed the performance of AIM.
It found that there are 230 AIM companies that have been listed on the market for the past 20 years. Accesso Technology Group has delivered the best performance over the past two decades (a 13,900% return), with Judges Scientific coming in second with a 7,490% return.
The pair are also the top two performers for the whole of the London Stock Exchange over that period.
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