Speeches and Sentiment from the QCA Annual Dinner 2025

Judith MacKenzie, QCA Chair and Partner at Downing LLP opened the QCA Annual Dinner 2025 with her welcome address. She highlighted the impact of the growth companies in the UK, many of whom were seated in the room.

London Stock Exchange CEO, Dame Julia Hoggett, then took the stage, celebrating the virtues of AIM as it marks its milestone 30th anniversary.

Below are adapted versions of their words on the night:

On average, companies represented by the attendees of the QCA Annual Dinner will grow earnings by over 20% in the next 12 months. 21% to be precise. That’s DOUBLE the FTSE All Share. They even beat the US S&P and NASDAQ. They will also have built up a cracking 12% annualised growth in earnings over the last 3 years.

There is nothing average about the companies in attendance, and there is nothing average about UK Growth Companies. Sometimes the headlines forget that, but the QCA doesn’t.

We have come so far. But we need more. Liquidity. Investment. IPO candidates. Confidence. We cannot do this alone. We need the Regulators, the Ministers, the Advisers, the Investors. UK markets are at a ‘crossroads’ now, for 3 years running. I don’t want to use the word Reform; it’s now about Reckoning.

What do our Members want? What do they need?

• Pension funds should be investing in UK companies. Not just private equity. Pension funds – a couple here tonight… they do not want to be the only solution for UK markets. They want to invest – And 90p in the £ going to PE isn’t the solution for them.
• Investors need to switch from ‘investing’ in cash – into shares.
• We need to change the attitude to Risk. I’ve described your attributes.
• We need to have a sunset clause for Business Relief, the AIM market needs certainty.
• And then – Imagine how great it would be to convert ISAs into a powerful UK relief that benefits UK companies – in lockstep with UK investors.

Reflections from the QCA Annual Conference 2025

The QCA issued some great research on the length of annual reports. They are now (on average) 98,000 words. Longer than Tolkien’s The Hobbit. But at our annual conference I nearly got up off my seat, clicked my heals like Bilbo Baggins. as I heard Richard Moriarty CEO of the Financial Reporting Council – say in answer to a question where he was asked by a Financial Director how to address the burden of annual reports: “Just kick back against the auditors and don’t write it. Leave it out. See what they say. Challenge it.’

Katie Potts, from Herald an erudite investor, urged the regulators, LSEG, and the community to have MANY smaller fund managers. Niche. Boutiques. Offering investors something they want. Imagine that. Allowing them to write investment tickets of £500k to £1m. That would help UK Growth companies and IPOS. Not just having large players. A healthy eco-system.

A final highlight of the year

The QCA wrote to all MPs with a member in their constituency, giving them the details of the member such as how many people they employ and their growth. We asked if they would like to meet them. Many took up our offer. And, remembering that the QCA is only (8 people), one of us always tried to be there and attended one myself on my “doorstep.”

When I arrived, I found a management team in their own office, proud to be hosting their MP. And wow… she was on it. Getting to the heart of local employment, in this case, the oil market and wealth taxes. Action points that have been followed up on. Engagement that will last long past my tenure as Chair.

That’s what the QCA does. We are here to join the dots and put them in bold, between politicians, regulators, markets, advisers and most of all companies.

At the QCA Annual Dinner, EVERY penny goes back into our collective cause, the cause of the UK quoted company growth agenda.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and members of the Quoted Companies Alliance.

It is a particular pleasure to stand before you tonight. To be among a community whose steadfast commitment to dynamic, growing companies has not only shaped the character of AIM, but has also left an indelible mark on the UK economy. My thanks to the QCA, to particularly to James and Judith, for your kind invitation to speak tonight, and for all you do to champion the interests of quoted companies.

If you will indulge me in making a brief personal reflection, I have always believed our public markets are built on two interwoven themes: innovation and purpose. The London Stock Exchange, which I sometimes describe as a 300-year-old fintech, is an institution that has weathered countless storms, but whose greatest asset remains its ability to evolve without losing sight of its core mission: to bring together those who have capital with those who need it, in service of an objective.
This evening, I want to focus on a market that sits at the very heart of our Funding Continuum strategy – a market that is, in my view, not merely important but absolutely crucial to the future of the UK economy: AIM.

AIM: The Jewel in the Crown of UK Capital Markets

For three decades, AIM has stood as a pillar of UK capital markets. It is a market with a singular purpose: to provide ambitious, growing companies with access to capital, and investors – large and small – with access to opportunity.
But it is more than just a market. It is a community and a legacy. And it feels fitting here to take a moment to reflect on the life of Jay Patel who passed away last week. Jay was a remarkable leader, an inspiring member of our community, and will be greatly missed. Jay was indeed someone who was part of our community and has left a wholly fitting legacy.

But tonight, I want to set out why AIM is not only central to the London Stock Exchange’s vision, but why it must remain at the forefront of the UK’s growth agenda as well.

When we published our recent AIM Discussion Paper, we deliberately chose to ask broad and challenging questions. We wanted honest feedback, and what came back was a strong sense of community and ambition – an ambition to keep AIM strong and relevant, not just for the next few years, but for the next generation of companies and investors.

AIM is not immune to the headwinds faced by global markets, but its pre-eminent role as Europe’s most active growth market gives us a strong foundation on which to build – as we saw from the recent Rosebank Industries transaction – raising a staggering £1.14bn on AIM and to acquire a US business no less.

As I have said before, AIM is a ‘jewel in the crown’ of London’s capital markets. For us it’s a source of pride, and a market we are committed to strengthening.

Why AIM Is Central to the Funding Continuum

Let me be clear: our ambition is to make the UK the best possible place for companies to start, grow, scale, and crucially, stay. AIM is pivotal to that vision. We are investing in AIM – not just financially, but in its future design, and we are backing the specialist community that makes AIM unique and seeking to ensure it remains a vibrant, competitive venue for years to come.

At this point, let me quickly address the development of PISCES and its relationship to AIM. I want to be clear – the Private Securities Market is not a rival to AIM. It is a complement to it. It is designed to relieve pressure for secondary liquidity in private markets, and to make the journey to IPO smoother when the time is right. It is part of our commitment to a seamless Funding Continuum for the UK…
…A seamless journey for companies, from inception, through growth, and on to scale – supported at every stage by access to capital and liquidity.

AIM enables growing businesses to access public markets earlier, at a stage when most global markets would still deem them too small or too untested. This is a distinctive advantage, and one that we must preserve.

But AIM is crucial for another reason: it enables investors, including retail investors, to participate in the growth journey of a company at an earlier stage, benefiting from their growth, and in turn supporting the innovation, job creation, and exports driven by AIM companies.

Retail investors matter. They are the lifeblood of a vibrant, inclusive market. And as we all seek to encourage more individuals in the UK to invest, we must ensure that people understand the strong ties between public markets and the UK economy.
And if we are serious about reconnecting British people to investing in the British economy – then AIM is key to ensuring that they can continue to own stakes in companies from across the economy and up and down the country.

AIM’s Economic Impact: The Evidence

And nowhere is AIM’s contribution to the economy clearer than in the data. Grant Thornton’s recent report on the economic impact of AIM companies, commissioned by the London Stock Exchange, makes for compelling reading. In 2023 alone, UK-incorporated AIM companies contributed £35.7 billion [thirty-five point seven billion pounds] in Gross Value Added to UK GDP – greater than the entirety of the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors – and directly supported more than 410,000 [four hundred and ten thousand] jobs. When you consider indirect and induced impacts through supply chains and employee spending, the overall impact by both measures almost doubles.

AIM’s Role in a Changing Market

Now, it is easy to forget how many growth markets have come and gone over the past thirty years. AIM has endured, evolved, and delivered – especially in the most challenging times. During the pandemic, £14.5 billion [fourteen point five billion pounds] was raised to support AIM companies through the crisis. More than half of all capital raised across Europe’s growth markets in the last decade has come through AIM and so far this year, four times more capital has been raised on AIM than on any other European growth market.

But tonight we stand at a crossroads. The pace of change in our economy is faster than ever. The nature of growth businesses is shifting, and so is the way investors engage with markets. AIM must keep pace – not just as an infrastructure, but as a community that adapts to the needs of those who seek capital and those who provide it.

That is why we published our Discussion Paper: to ask the big questions – not just about rules, but about the broader funding and regulatory environment. We want honest feedback, and we have been thrilled by the passion and thoughtfulness of the responses.

Backing Innovation, Backing Growth

The innovative model of AIM brings together a community – nomad advisers, investors, and company leaders – who together have driven, and continue to drive, economic development across the UK. The fiscal incentives that support AIM companies – EIS, VCT, ISA inclusion, and Business Relief – are not just policy artefacts; they are vital structures that ensure companies in the UK have access to the right level of investment when they most need it.

Let me be clear, these fiscal incentives matter if we are going to generate growth as an economy. Vibrant economies have the right mix of household assets that are stores of value, like cash and, arguably for certain generations in this country, housing, and assets that are drivers of growth – such as equity investments. Without these drivers of growth we will not create and support the companies that are the innovators, employers and taxpayers of the future.

Those investments are by definition taking more risk – the future is after all not certain – so we must recognise in our fiscal structures that to have economic growth, we must also incentivise those who wish to back these growing companies – particularly in the early stages.

To deny the economy that investment – whether by taking away these fiscal incentives or by other means – is to choose to deliberately starve the flame of economic growth, of the oxygen it needs to truly spark to life.

These incentives also allow companies to start small, then grow, ultimately scale and we hope, stay in the UK. Without them, our economy, and our markets, would risk tilting to a market that can only serve the largest, most liquid companies, denying smaller, innovative businesses the opportunity to thrive – harming competition and the UK’s ability to continue creating and growing great businesses.

Shaping the Future Together

Let’s also not forget that AIM has been a vital model, not just for companies and their investors but also for the capital markets more broadly. Many of the positive changes that have been made recently to the Main Market were first proved to be beneficial through AIM: less prescriptive free float requirements and track record requirements and the level of documentation required for follow-on transactions are just some examples.

Whilst some have commented that the changes to the Main Market have removed some elements of differentiation and therefore some of the benefits of AIM, we see this as an opportunity for AIM to continue to evolve further.

This is a moment to shape AIM’s future – not just for today’s entrepreneurs and investors, but for the next generation of wealth creators who will drive growth and prosperity across the UK. We are currently working through the feedback from our Discussion Paper and are mindful of the importance of maintaining momentum.

When it comes to evolving AIM to make it a continued success, the feedback given as part of the consultation has raised many great ideas to secure that future.

Even if the topics raised are not in our direct control, they can provide a mandate for us (or indeed the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce) to try to influence. Whether that is tax incentives, flows of capital or the cost of audits, to name just a few. Just because we do not directly control these issues, it does not mean that we cannot fight for them if these are the issues the AIM community consider to be the most pressing.

As I have alluded to, we will continue with urgency to encourage the government to provide certainty around the package of fiscal incentives that support investment in AIM. We are continuing to engage with the FCA and FRC around the feedback that we have received where we will need their support and we will focus on areas that can reduce cost for companies and make company disclosures more readily available for investors, particularly individual investors.
So, my message is simple, please keep the feedback and ideas coming!

On the topics within our control, whether it’s our own rules, the Nomad model, Admission Documents, or secondary trading functionality, you can rest assured that every one of them is being looked at.

Once we have worked through all that feedback we will publish our response, but before then, I can share with you some of the key themes that have emerged.

We recognise the feedback that there is an opportunity to re-position AIM: in a way, to go back to its roots as a risk capital market, based on the principle of caveat emptor. We also recognise the opportunity to move the Nominated Adviser role back to being the company’s lead corporate finance adviser rather than being predominantly a compliance and regulatory function.

We also see a fantastic opportunity to leverage technology and AI to bring greater efficiency to the production of documentation and to ensuring that companies are rewarded for the work they put into producing these documents by making sure that the information in them is distributed in a more digestible form to a wider audience of investors and potential investors.

AIM’s evolution will be based on market engagement. We will continue to engage with all stakeholders, including government and regulators, and I hope you know me well enough by now to know that we will not be afraid to be bold in our approach.

Conclusion: The AIM of the Future

Let me end with this. AIM is not just a market. It is a promise – to Founders, to investors, to employees, and to the nation – that the UK will be a place where ambition is nurtured, where innovation is invested in, and where growth can be delivered.

We are proud of AIM’s legacy and utterly committed to building upon it. The future will be shaped not by regulation alone, or indeed by the London Stock Exchange alone, but by the shared purpose of all those who believe in the power of public markets to drive prosperity.

Thank you for your care, your commitment, and your partnership. Together, we will ensure that AIM remains at the heart of the UK Funding Continuum and continues to power the growth of the UK economy for decades to come.

Thank you