The London Stock Exchange has published a revised set of Alternative Investment Market Rules for Companies, effective 5 August 2026.
The updated AIM Rules are designed to make it easier for innovative and growing companies to join the market, raise funds, and complete acquisitions.
A new Express Market route replaces the former AIM Designated Market route, supporting accelerated admission for eligible international and dual-listed issuers.
Eligible international issuers can access AIM as an express applicant if they have traded on a qualifying Express Market for at least three years and have a proposed market capitalisation of at least £20 million.
A dual-market applicant route allows companies seeking simultaneous admission to an Express Market and AIM, raising at least £6 million through an initial public offer, to rely on a single admission document.
Applicants may now issue special voting shares at admission, subject to constitutional documents restricting who may hold them and excluding voting rights on remuneration and related-party transactions.
The class test threshold for substantial transactions requiring public disclosure has been significantly raised, moving from 10% to 25%, reducing the compliance burden on companies making acquisitions.
An acquisition exceeding 100% in the class tests will no longer be automatically classified as a reverse takeover unless it also produces a fundamental change in business, board, or voting control.
Companies undertaking a fundraise may request a temporary trading suspension known as a capital access window, with trading resuming once a cleansing notification confirms the outcome.
The requirement for companies to adopt a named corporate governance code and report on a comply-or-explain basis has been removed entirely under the new rules.
Companies can instead disclose their approach to board composition, director responsibilities, remuneration and performance, risk and controls, and investor relations using a recognised code as a framework.
The working capital statement requirement in admission documents has been removed and replaced with disclosure of capital resources, financial obligations, and fundraising requirements for the following 12 months.
UK-incorporated companies may now prepare accounts under UK generally accepted accounting practice, specifically Financial Reporting Standard 102, rather than International Accounting Standards.
The former obligation to disclose price-sensitive information under AIM Rule 11 has been removed, as it duplicated existing obligations under the UK Market Abuse Regulation.
Each company will now be required to include prominent buyer-beware wording on the first page of its admission document, aligning with the inherently higher-risk nature of the AIM market.