London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) accounted for more than half the cash raised on Europe’s junior and growth markets last year.

According to research by the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, £9.5bn was raised on the UK’s secondary, more lightly regulated, stock exchange in 2021 compared with other European growth markets which raised £8.5bn between them.

By comparison, the Paris Alternext market raised only 5 per cent of the European total with £827m last year and the Borsa Italiana only 4 per cent of the total with £740m.

>See also: Should I float on AIM?

UHY Hacker Young said that London growth market had “solidified its reputation as the best junior stock market to float on in Europe” because of improved investor protection and governance.

Dan Hutson, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “AIM has become a force to be reckoned with in the last decade, far outstripping the efforts of its European counterparts. The regulation put in place in recent years has allowed AIM to grow into the place to list and invest.”

Further reading

How to float on AIM