Southampton: BDO takes advantage of a buoyant year for floats

The Southampton-based team at accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has developed strong expertise as a leading reporting accountant on AIM for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and having completed two recent transactions.

Corporate finance director Darren Phillips explained: “BDO in Southampton has helped two of our clients float on AIM this year: Weybridge-based Mi-Pay Plc and Haydale Graphene Industries plc based in Carmarthen.”

Business assurance partner Paul Anthony added: “With the flotation of Net Scientific plc last year, also a client of the Southampton office, this brings the office’s total to 10 listed clients – eight on AIM and two on the main market.”

The FTSE AIM 100 Index is an index of the top 100 companies weighted by capitalisation, comprising businesses ranging from young, venture capital-backed start-ups to well-established, mature organisations looking to expand. The list grew three times faster than the FTSE 100 in the second half of 2013 and has shown a substantial increase in the amount of funds raised in the final quarter of 2013 compared to the rest of the year.

BDO has a long track record of preparing businesses to float on AIM, as well as supporting them on acquisitions. In the past year, BDO supported Southampton-based Universe Group plc on an acquisition and Hungerford-based Vislink plc on its acquisition of Pebble Beach Systems.

Phillips added: “Our work with AIM companies underlines our commitment to this particular sector nationally where we have consistently floated more businesses onto AIM than any other firm.”