Something to AIM

The world's biggest stock exchange is inviting Polish companies to list on the Alternative Investment Market. "The AIM is more than an IPO market, it provides companies with high-quality long-term liquidity and the potential to raise further capital to fund future growth," says Zarina Korolova, CEE  and CIS manager at the London Stock Exchange.

In the 12 years since it was established, 2,681 companies have acquired over Ł40 billion on AIM. Currently, 1,635 companies are listed, with 306 originating from Britain and eight from the CEE region. Last year, every second IPO on world markets took place in London and 75 percent of those are listed on AIM.

Thanks to its AIM listing, Poland-based Coffeeheaven has evolved from a small network of coffee shops into a recognizable brand. "The public listing of its shares provides Coffeeheaven with direct access to London's huge capital markets and gives the company the creditability and independence to rapidly roll out new stores across Central Europe," reads a statement on the company's website.

Ludwik Sobolewski, president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, says the Polish bourse is carefully looking at what other markets offer but he does not fear the flight of Polish companies to London. "The procedure of entering the bourse may be shorter but it's more costly than ours. Apart from that, many investors from the region complain that the turnover on AIM is smaller because institutional shareholders change their stocks less often than individual investors," says Sobolewski.