By Charlie Conchie
Private jet firm Gama Aviation has revealed plans to quit the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market today in the latest of a flood of exits from the bourse in recent weeks.
In a statement today, the Farnborough-based aviation firm, which has a market capitalisation of around £58m, said it had considered the “benefits and drawbacks” of the listing and had decided “de-listing is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders”.
“The costs associated with maintaining the AIM quotation are considered by the directors to be disproportionately high when compared to the benefits, and the board believes that these funds could be better utilised,” Gama said today.
Last year, the price of maintaining its AIM listing came in at £800k, Gama said. As part of the exit, bosses are looking to buy back around £32.6m of shares which they say is a route for investors to realise their investment in the company for cash.
The move is now set to be put to shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in May.
Gama’s departure will add to fears of a growing exodus from the London Stock Exchange’s junior market, where scores of firms have moved to scrap their listings in recent months.
Some 76 companies have delisted from AIM in the past year – a sharp increase of 62 per cent from 47 delistings in the previous year, according to national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.
The number of companies listed on London’s smallcap market has now cratered 30 per cent from 1,104 in 2015 to just 742 at the end of February.
The London Stock Exchange’s main market has also been hit by a flurry of exits, with tech darling Darktrace becoming the latest firm to wave through a take-private deal last week.
According to data from investment bank Peel Hunt, around £60bn worth of companies have confirmed plans to leave the London Stock Exchange so far this year.
