London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has long been the exchange of choice for eastern Europe’s small-cap and mid-cap companies wanting to list. But the sheer number of companies inundating the AIM means that some from the region are starting to look to the vibrant Polish bourse, where they hope to benefit from being big fish in a smaller pond.
The AIM has scooped up the majority of smaller initial public offerings (IPOs) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the past few years. But the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) is starting to cut the AIM’s lead, as owners complain about the UK market’s high costs and lack of post-IPO trading wearing down their share prices. Not everyone is unhappy but several issuers listed in London are talking about a dual listing with the WSE or even about moving wholesale to the Polish market.
