10 Companies to follow for 2026 from @TMSreach28 Dec 2025 07:24
10 Companies to follow in 2026
2025 was the year AIM showed its resilience, rising nearly 10pc after enduring years of higher interest rates in the wake of the pandemic and continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
It’s been the market’s best year for fundraising since the boom year of 2021: by the end of August AIM-listed companies had raised £2.1bn from IPOs and secondary fundraisings (shares sold by current shareholders rather than issued by the company itself), more than double the £889m raised in the previous 12 months.
AIM has continued to dominate Europe’s growth markets, accounting for 53pc of all capital raised across European small cap indices over the past five years: more money than its five nearest European rivals combined. IPOs on London’s junior market rebounded through the 2024/25 financial year, 16 companies listing so far against just nine last year. The average amount of new money raised per IPO was £9.9m, up from the low of £6.8m recorded in 2022/23.
And there are good grounds for believing the revival will gather pace in 2026. The brutal shakeout over the last few years has left a core of higher quality, better capitalised companies better able to inspire investor confidence. As a junior market AIM is particularly well positioned to benefit from the prospect of lower interest rates that will ease the debt burden of smaller companies. And it is a particular focus of ongoing efforts by policy makers (across all major parties) and regulators to improve the competitiveness of London’s markets and direct more investment into UK assets.
In his annual review of the small cap sector Investors’ Chronicle associate editor Simon Thompson notes that UK equities continue to be undervalued relative to US shares, particularly AIM-listed tech. Plenty of opportunities exist for canny stockpickers amid the many small caps with low earnings multiples.
The prospect of lower interest rates and – in due course – market reform augur well for AIM’s continued recovery in 2026. And though investors rightly look to the junior market for short-term gains they should not lose sight of one of the most well observed market patterns, frequently highlighted by TMS: the tendency of small caps to outperform their larger counterparts over time. The pattern has asserted itself in recent history, small and mid-sized companies generating a return premium over their larger peers of 6pc between 2009 and 2021. AIM was designed precisely to provide a framework for small cap growth over extended periods.
For investors willing to do their homework, manage risk, spread their money over different sectors, and hold on to promising shares through tough times, AIM offers as many opportunities as it ever has.
Here, we look at 10 Companies from a variety of sectors that have performed in 2025 or which may be positioned for a better year ahead. Also look out for our roundup of new year selections for Oil & Gas plus mining st