AIM is the London Stock Exchange's global market for smaller, growing companies.
Good companies from different sectors and different countries are welcome on AIM.
Since AIM opened in 1995, more than 850 companies have been admitted. Collectively, these companies have raised more than $10 billion whilst on AIM.There are no specific suitability criteria for companies to qualify for AIM.
However, under the AIM rules, all companies must produce an admission document making certain disclosures about such matters as their directors' backgrounds, their promoters, business activities and financial positions.
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CREST is the settlement system for a wide range of UK, Irish and international securities. CREST offers retail investors the opportunity of holding their securities in electronic form in their own name through personal membership.
The design of the CREST system began in 1993 and in 1994 CRESTCo Limited was formed to build, own and operate the new settlement system. CRESTCo is owned by 96 of the systems users, ranging from small stockholders to large international securities houses.
The CREST system went live on 15 July,1996, providing the UK and Irish markets with a highly efficient delivery versus payment dematerialised settlement system.
Membership of CREST is available to corporates and individuals. CREST has over 42,000 members, of which over 40,000 are individuals holding their securities in CREST personal membership.
Since this time CREST has evolved into a major settlement system, operating in a growing international market, with direct links to major European countries and the USA.
CREST was designed as an international share settlement system, uniquely providing settlement services for both the UK and Ireland. It is a world-class system that operates in real time, settling large volumes of transactions at low cost and in multiple currencies, allowing customers to monitor their transactions throughout the process.
CRESTCo's portfolio of settlement services includes, as well as gilts, unit trusts and shares in open-ended investment companies (“OEICs”) and money market instruments (“CMO”).
Background of consolidation of share capital.
London Security entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement ("CVA") with its creditors in October 1992 as it was in severe financial difficulties. A small amount of money was also raised by a share issue to enable the administration of the Company to continue during the CVA. All the assets were sold and the proceeds used to repay secured creditors. Unsecured creditors and shareholders were left with nothing and, by late 1994, the funds from the 1992 share issue had been spent. The Company was within days of going into liquidation and shares in the Company had no value.
As part of the CVA arrangements, the share capital was consolidated on the basis of one new share for each 35 old shares.
Nu-Swift Limited, then a 29.9% shareholder, was a major loser as a result of the above and decided to revive the Company by changing the Board and injecting a portfolio of properties into the Company in exchange for new shares. The effect was to produce a viable company but the previous shareholders (whose holdings were effectively worthless) were heavily diluted as a result of the issue of the new shares.
As there were then over 500 million shares in issue, the share capital was again consolidated, on the basis of one new share for each 100 old shares. This was approved by shareholders in December 1994, at the time of the acquisition of the Nu-Swift properties.
Set out below is a table detailing the consolidation of the share capital of the Company for various levels of shareholding.
| Ordinary shares | Ordinary shares | Ordinary shares | ||
| Brought forward | 1000 | 3500 | 6999 | 25000 |
| Consolidation - 16 October 1992 | 28 | 100 | 199 | 714 |
| Consolidation - 30 December 1994 | ||||
| (1:100) | Nil | 1 | 1 | 7 |