We have talked about AIM being picked clean by bargain-hunters from abroad. Now we have evidence to support the thesis.
Allenby Capital's half-year stocktake reports that seven companies were bought out in the first six months of 2026. Another six are under offer. Buyers paid an average of 62% above the going share price to get them. Americans did most of the shopping, behind six of the seven completed deals.
What does this tell us? UK small caps are cheap, a weak pound makes them cheaper still for foreign buyers, and British boards tend to wave the white flag rather than dig in. Around £2.3 billion of companies left this way.
Replacements are thin on the ground. Just 16 firms joined AIM while 30 left, shrinking the roster to 605. Rewind to the 2010s and you would see roughly 70 newcomers a year.
The £3.1 billion raised sounds punchy, until you notice £1.9 billion of it came from Rosebank Industries, which promptly upgraded itself to the Main Market.
It is not all gloom. Trading is up 21% and liquidity is running at a healthy 3.9%.
But the trend is unmistakable: AIM is getting smaller and cheaper, and growth businesses are sitting ducks.
A quiet week on the boards
Now, onto the market's gyrations, or lack of them, this week. The AIM All-Share moved an almost imperceptible 0.6% higher to 807.39. Still, it outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE 100, which traded sideways over the mid-summer holiday period.
Coal comes in from the cold
GCM Resources (AIM:GCM) was the week's standout mover, rocketing 240% as coal came in from the cold.
The AIM tiddler has one asset: a vast coal seam under Phulbari in Bangladesh, stranded for over a decade awaiting government blessing.
That blessing edged closer when Bangladesh's finance minister told a Dhaka business audience the country was weighing coal in its energy mix, reportedly floating open-pit mining, exactly what Phulbari needs.
GCM's response was cautious, merely "welcoming" the remarks. No approval, no contract, just a speech. But for a loss-making minnow that trades on political mood music, that was more than enough.
Answers on a postcard
AOTI Inc (AIM:AOTI) shares leapt 38% this week, and the official news flow does little to explain why.
The only disclosure was a modest one: three executives bought 2,766 shares between them via the staff share plan, worth under £3,000.
That is not a catalyst, so the market clearly knows something the rest of us don't.
Sabien Technology Group PLC (AIM:SNT) climbed 36% after confirming that talks are progressing over a UK distribution deal for its M2G energy-saving platform with SaveMoneyCutCarbon.
Nothing is yet signed. A mooted £2 million convertible loan note has been dropped, lifting the threat of dilution, while Richard Parris keeps both his stake and his backing.
Thor Energy PLC (AIM:THR, OTCQB:THORF, ASX:THR) jumped 33%, which tells you rather a lot about how quiet things were. The trigger? Managing director Andrew Hume is due to give a presentation on natural hydrogen and helium exploration at an Australian petroleum conference.
Good grades, no takers
Jangada Mines PLC (AIM:JAN) slipped 17% after the explorer reported the results of phase 1 drilling at its Molly Gold Project.
The assays included some eye-catching grades and a promising new discovery at the Vivi target, where rock chips assayed up to a hefty 306 grams of gold. Despite that, and reassurance on its financial position, investors checked out.
eEnergy PLC (AIM:EAAS) also dropped 17% too after saying it was experiencing delays in receiving around £3.2 million owed for completed work on its 65-site Mace project. The company said this was down to outstanding paperwork, principally around solar photovoltaic installations.
A rival's win is Scancell's gain
Finally, a big cancer breakthrough for pharma giants Moderna and Merck could be good news for British firm Scancell Holdings PLC (AIM:SCLP, OTC:SCNLF, FRA:SCP), which is working on a rival treatment.
Moderna and Merck reported that their experimental melanoma vaccine passed its final major trial. Moderna's shares jumped 150%.
Why does that help a competitor? Because it proves the whole approach works. Both firms are building vaccines that teach the body's immune system to hunt down cancer cells, so success for one lifts hopes for the other.
The difference lies in how they are made. Moderna's is tailored to each individual patient, which is fiddly and pricey. Scancell's is an off-the-shelf jab, so potentially far cheaper.
Broker Panmure Liberum reckons that could give Scancell an edge. The company has just won UK approval to start its own final-stage trial later this year.
