Tech firms on London's AIM see valuations rocket
Technology companies see value increase across the board, but services firms see strongest growth
Technology companies on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) saw their valuations soar 50 per cent in 2017, according to advisory firm Moore Stephens.
Research by Moore Stephens shows that the valuations of tech firms on the AIM increased 24.9 per cent to £111m between 30 June 2017 and the end of last year.
Over the full year, valuations rocketed 50 per cent compared with 2016.
The increased valuations of tech firms led to a renaissance in tech IPOs, Moore Stephens claimed, with seven taking place in the second half of last year.
Moore Stephens director Dougie Hunter said: "There is no doubt that the ability of companies to raise significant levels of secondary funds has been one of the factors for the increase in the number of technology IPOs.
"The AIM market clearly remains an attractive option for tech businesses. With Brexit on the horizon, it is clear that companies still have faith in the UK's alternative market as their chosen place for exit.
"Over the next six months, we think the trend for IPOs will continue as demonstrated by the recent £30m fundraise by OnTheMarket in the past week."
According to Moore Stephens, hardware firms on AIM saw their valuations jump 16 per cent in the second half of 2017, while software firms saw growth of 20 per cent.
Companies in support services saw the strongest valuation growth at 56 per cent.
Last year tech firms on AIM raised £1.2bn in 2017, four times the total in 2016.