A host of exciting growth companies, including Gemfields, Clinigen and Abcam, were rewarded for their work in 2013 at the AIM Awards on Thursday.
Coloured gemstone specialist Gemfields (LON:GEM) was awarded the prize of AIM Transaction of the Year for its US$90mln acquisition of the iconic Fabergé in January, beating a shortlist which included IQE (LON:IQE) and Finsbury Food Group (LON:FIF).
Chief executive Ian Harebottle said: “The judging panel consists of some of AIM’s most experienced advisers and we are thrilled to see that they too have appreciated the significance of this transaction.
“The combination of Fabergé and Gemfields sets the stage for the creation of a globally recognised coloured gemstone champion.”
Biotech junior Clinigen (LON:CLIN) won the award for best newcomer, having seen its shares jump 160% to 471p since listing in September 2012. The company is now has a stock market valuation of almost £400mln.
The best performing share award went to telecoms minnow Coms (LON:COMS), which has soared 577% since last year.
WANdisco (LON:WAND) was voted best technology company on the junior market, while Cmbridge-based biotech Abcam (LON:ABC) beat the likes of ASOS (LON:ASC), Dart Group (LON:DTG) and Prezzo (LON:PRZ) to the award for best overall AIM company.
There was a notable absence of mining companies on the shortlists, with the exception of Gemfields, which now markets itself as a gemstone group rather than a pure mining company.