Record Year For Equity Fundraising on the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE)

London, Dec 30, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - A record GBP82.5 billion was raised through new and further issues of equity on the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE) during the course of 2009, an increase of 16 per cent on the total for 2008, itself a record year.

Despite difficult market conditions, there were a total of 69 new issues on the Exchange, including 18 IPOs, and a significant number of further issues, totalling GBP80.7 billion, taking place.

Tracey Pierce, Head of Equity Primary Markets at London Stock Exchange Group, said:
"Our markets continued to support the capital raising needs of companies across the year, with a flow of secondary issues contributing to a record year of equity fundraising, providing firms with the backing they need to help them through testing market conditions. Although there can be no certainty regarding the timing of new issues, our pipeline of new companies looking to float in 2010 is promising, with firms from a broad range of countries and sectors keen to benefit from the liquidity and profile that a listing in London offers."

2009 EQUITY MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:

- On July 27 ,Tata Steel, one of the world's leading steel companies, raised $500 million, the largest ever Indian GDR offering in London

- Also in July, RusHydro, the world's largest publicly traded hydro generation company joined the Main Market, while Virgin Media joined the Official List in October, giving investors the opportunity to invest in one of the UK's leading entertainment brands

- Over GBP50 billion was raised through rights issues from a broad range of companies on the Main Market. As well as significant rights issues by Royal Bank of Scotland Group and HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group raised GBP13.5 billion in November, the world's largest ever rights issue. In addition mining group Rio Tinto, home builder Barratt Developments and brewer Greene King raised GBP7.3 billion, GBP545.5 million and GBP218.0 million in rights issues respectively

- Centamin Egypt moved from AIM to the Main Market in November, having grown from a market capitalisation of GBP21.5 million on admission to AIM in 2001 to over GBP1 billion

- AIM continued to perform resiliently, raising GBP5.3 billion, a 23 per cent increase on 2008, with money raised through further issues reaching GBP4.6 billion, a 45 per cent increase on last year

- During the year, more than 70 AIM companies conducted further issues worth over GBP10 million, including Songbird Estates which raised GBP620 million in October, AIM's largest ever secondary issue

- The largest AIM IPO of the year was Max Property Group, which floated in May, raising GBP220 million

Marcus Stuttard, Head of AIM, said:
"As we enter 2010, AIM remains a vital source of funding for growth companies, supporting innovation and jobs across the UK, and internationally. AIM is the only growth market in the world with the critical mass to provide firms from a wide range of countries and sectors with access to capital not just at IPO but throughout their life on the market.

"The fact that AIM companies succeeded in raising over GBP4.5 billion through further issues in 2009 - capital injections which they have used to pay off debt, rebuild balance sheets and fund further growth - demonstrates how interest in small and mid cap companies among London's unrivalled suite of small cap investors remains strong."

--------------------------------------MAIN MARKET, PSM AND SFM UK & INTERNATIONAL        --------------------------------------       IPOs    IPO       Further  Total                 Money     Money    money               raised    Raised   Raised                GBPm      GBPm     GBPm*--------------------------------------2009**  7       1,052    76,143  77,195  2008    35      6,299    60,438  66,737  2007    87      20,450   9,525   29,995   2006    89      20,124   16,161  36,307   2005    88      10,674   9,151   19,851  2004    52      4,930    8,929   13,903  2003    20      3,563    12,799  16,378  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------AIM UK & INTERNATIONAL --------------------------------------       IPOs    IPO       Further  Total                 Money     Money    money               raised    Raised   Raised                GBPm      GBPm     GBPm*--------------------------------------               2009** 11      598       4,592    5,322 2008   38      917       3,214    4,322 2007   182     6,262     9,602    16,1832006   278     9,315     5,734    15,6782005   335     5,632     2,481    8,942 2004   243     2,412     1,879    4,655 2003   66      986       1,000    2,095 --------------------------------------

*includes non-IPO new issues
**2009 totals are based on confirmed figures up to the end of November and estimates up to 18 December.

Contact

Alastair Fairbrother Press Office TEL: +44 (0)20 7797 1222 newsroom@londonstockexchange.com