Ali Mortazavi, CEO of e-therapeutics, set a small corner of X ablaze this week with a brutal thread on his intention to delist from London Stock Exchange’s AIM market.
According to Mortazavi: “the UK markets are not just illiquid, they’re completely broken and closed. The situation is worse for small growth companies (in particular biotech) but even sizeable companies such as Shell and many others are saying the same thing.” I would recommend reading the whole thread.
On the same day, City A.M. provocatively asked: Is the London Stock Exchange’s AIM in terminal decline? After all, the market’s total value has fallen by over 50% since its peak in 2021, while the number of firms listed on AIM has shrunk 30% since 2015. As reported, AIM doesn’t come cheap: “An IPO on AIM will cost about £500,000, and fees for RNS announcement, legal costs, and other expenses add around £200,000 a year to that. Given that about 400 companies listed on AIM have a market cap below £50m, that’s a high price to pay for the UK’s small businesses.”
I know some people who read this will be more bullish on AIM. Whether you agree with Mortazavi or not, I hope we can all agree that there is room for improvement.
I don’t want to depress you even more but Mortazavi’s tweet thread highlights another issue that’s holding back British entrepreneurs: With one of his investors now above the 25% threshold, the National Security Investment Act (NSIA), which he describes as a “shocking piece of legislation,” means an extra 45 working days will be added to the process. He says the legislation is “particularly punitive to biotechs, referred to as ‘synthetic biology.’”
With the right policies, we could all be a lot better off (in every meaning of the term). That’s why we set up the Private Business Commission. Whether it’s access to funding, tax incentives, the functioning of capital markets, employee incentives, or anything else you think matters, respond to the Call for Evidence here. The deadline is Tuesday 23 April 2024. Help make the change you want to see in the UK.
Message from this Week's Partner
Yesterday, employee relocation platform Jobbatical published a report (which The Entrepreneurs Network was happy to contribute to) exploring an issue that many of you reading will be very passionate about. It looks at the UK’s approach to skilled immigration, what’s going wrong, and what UK businesses need to plug the talent gap. With immigration being a big electoral battleground, the report looks at how those with different voting intentions feel about the impact of current immigration policies on their businesses.
The report is based upon a survey of hundreds of senior business professionals of mid-to-large businesses in the UK. Findings include the fact that a similar proportion of Labour (63%) and Conservative (62%) voters believe that UK businesses need more international workers – but despite this, almost seven in 10 (69%) Labour voters say that the UK government has made it too difficult for businesses to hire international workers (compared to 42% of Conservative voters).
Politics aside, the report also explores the global skills crisis and how different countries are responding to this from an immigration perspective. It raises concerns from business professionals about the cost and complexity of the UK’s immigration system.
You can read the full report here.
As a friend of The Entrepreneurs Network, you’re also invited to Jobbatical’s panel discussion and networking event around this report at Sea Containers London on 18 April, 6pm to 7.30pm followed by networking and drinks. Grab your free ticket here.