AIM share tips review 2025

The five 2025 AIM recommendations were doing reasonably well at the end of June, generating an overall average gain of 9.3% over the six months, but they have not had a good second half.

• Invest with ii: Top UK Shares | Share Tips & Ideas | Cashback Offers

A bid for Kinovo locked in that gain, which has helped. Two of the companies have been hit by delays in government or consumer spending, which has severely knocked their share prices. That has dragged the performance into negative territory.

The AIM index recovered by more than 5% during 2025, but the recommendations fell an average of 2.9%. Even if dividends are taken into account the decline was still nearly 2%.

All four remaining companies are attractive recovery prospects at their current share prices despite their 2025 performance.

Kinovo

Recommendation price: 64p
Bid price: 87.5p

Kinovo’s AIM quotation was cancelled on 2 July. The company provides electrical, gas and building maintenance and compliance services to local authorities and housing associations, and management had turned around the underperforming business.

Former AIM company Sureserve, which was bought by private equity buyer Cap10 Partners two years ago, pounced and offered 87.5p/share in cash, which valued Kinovo at £56.4 million. That was not overly generous but provided a sufficient premium for investors to accept.

Gooch & Housego

Recommendation price: 505.5p
Current price: 600p

Optical components and systems manufacturer Gooch & Housego (LSE:GHH) continued its recovery this year. There were mixed fortunes in its markets, but enough good news to improve profit. Outsourcing lower margin product manufacturing is helping margins.

Gooch & Housego continues to suffer from weaker demand in industrials and life sciences, but the return to profit of the aerospace and defence division helped pre-tax profit recover from £8.1 million to £11.9 million. That was lower than the forecast at the beginning of 2025. The order book increased to £142.4 million at the end of September 2025 and 80% should be generated in 2025-26.

• AIM’s biggest companies and how they performed in 2025
• Investment outlook: expert opinion, analysis and ideas
• A FTSE 100 stock to watch in 2026

There are more positive signs for the industrial laser and semiconductor markets, with those order books improving. Profitability and margins will continue to move upwards in the aerospace and defence division as programmes reach volume production. There will also be larger contributions from recent acquisitions.

Cavendish forecasts a further rise in pre-tax profit to £16.2 million in 2025-26. Forecast revenues of £175.3 million are substantially covered by contracted work. The dividend is set to be maintained at 13.2p/share.

The attraction of Gooch & Housego was the recovery potential and, while it has not been as fast as hoped for, that still holds. The prospective rating of 13 remains low relative to previous years and there is potential for further acquisitions to boost medium-term earnings and push up the share price.

2025 AIM recommendations

*Bid price. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

EMV Capital

Recommendation price: 48.1p
Current price: 57.5p

Technology company adviser and investor EMV Capital (LSE:EMVC) performed strongly at the end of the year. A presentation on 1 December concerning investee companies Wanda Health, a remote patient monitoring technology developer, and DeepTech Recycling, which has developed plastic recycling technology, helped attract attention to EMV Capital and boost the share price.

Wanda Health subsequently raised £860,000 in a funding led and syndicated by EMV Capital. Annual recurring revenues could exceed $5 million (£3.7 million) by the end of 2026. The 16.5% stake held by EMV Capital has a value of £1.7 million, up from the £1.5 million valuation at the end of June 2025.

The key second-half transaction was the purchase of assets relating to the XF drug platform from the administrator of Destiny Pharma via a new subsidiary for up to £2.475 million. The XF platform reduces the chance of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. This is something that is already well developed with millions of pounds invested.

• Sector Screener: a review of 2025 and look ahead to 2026
• Shares for the future:addressing the oldest investment sin

The initial consideration is £475,000 and the rest depends on the launching of a phase 3 study in the US and regulatory approval, plus receipt of a potential milestone fee relating to a Hong Kong agreement. The deal is funded by a three-year term loan with 100% warrant coverage. EMV Capital led an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fundraising to provide working capital of £725,000. EMV Capital will own a 43.8% undiluted stake in the acquisition vehicle for a limited cash cost. Third-party investment under management will have a value of £1.3 million.

EMV Capital assets under management (direct and indirect) were £104.7 million at the end of June 2025, which is a rise of 6%. At the halfway stage the value of the directly owned portfolio increased from £37.7 million to £38.6 million, despite the share price decline in Nasdaq-quoted PDS Biotechnology. There is a spread of healthcare, renewable and technology investments.

Core revenues improved 5% to £1.04 million in the first half. EMV Capital is moving towards covering its overheads with its income from advising and raising money for companies, plus fees from managing funds.

There is still plenty more value in the portfolio. The timing of any gains is always difficult to predict, though. Still a long-term buy.

Lords Group Trading

Recommendation price: 33.5p
Current price: 23.3p

Builders’ and plumbing merchant business Lords Group Trading (LSE:LORD) was doing well earlier in the year, but uncertainty ahead of the Budget led to a downturn in demand for housing and other construction and a poor end to the year.

Autumn is an important trading period, so the downturn was at a key point in the year.  Like-for-like revenues of the merchanting division fell 1.8% in the four months to October 2025. Plumbing and heating like-for-likes were even harder hit, declining by 8.3%. Both divisions had grown in the first half. The bright spot is the CMO business acquired in June, which is already contributing a profit.

• Stockwatch: share tips, IPOs, tech and value in 2025
• The UK stock market outlook for 2026

Guidance for full-year revenue is £480-485 million and adjusted EBITDA of between £20 million and £21 million. Cavendish has cut its pre-tax profit forecast from £6.7 million to £2.7 million, which is down on £3.8 million in 2024.

After the trading statement, Premier Miton has slashed its stake from 9.97% to 3.92%. Lords Group Trading chief executive Shanker Patel bought 1.4 million shares at 21.02p each, while related parties acquired 550,555 shares. The concert party of shareholders owns 52% of the company. A related party of Stuart Kilpatrick bought 30,000 shares at 22.6p each.

There should be a recovery in 2026. Pre-tax profit could get back to the 2024 level, although this is still much lower than in 2023. The disposal of properties means that net debt is manageable - £21.8 million is forecast at the end of 2025. An upturn in the construction market would mean that the 2026 forecast could be beaten. The share price is likely to rebound in the coming year if demand does. 

TPXimpact

Recommendation price: 43p
Current price: 22p

Digital transformation services provider TPXimpact Holdings Ordinary Shares (LSE:TPX) was hit by delays in government spending, leading to sharp downgrades in expectations. The government spending review has been completed and is providing project bidding opportunities. There are signs of greater activity and the recovery in margins and profit could accelerate this year.

The restructuring by management is working and the reduction in the cost base has more than offset the weakness in revenues. The original three-year plan has gone well and there will be new growth targets set when the full-year results are published.

A £9 million contract has been won from His Majesty's Prison & Probation Service and there has also been a contract gained from the City of London Corporation. More potential work is in the pipeline.

Interim revenues dipped from £37.8 million to £36.2 million. Excluding amortisation and share based payments there was a swing from a loss to an underlying pre-tax profit of £1.77 million. Net debt was £7 million at the end of September 2025 and cash generated from operations will reduce this figure to around £6 million by March 2026.

• FTSE 250’s best and worst shares of 2025
• Sign up to our free newsletter for investment ideas, latest news and award-winning analysis

Cavendish forecasts an improvement in full-year pre-tax profit from £3.3 million to £4.5 million. That appears an achievable target.

Government spending on the digitisation of its administrative activities is still required and cannot be put off for too long. There was £31 million of business won in the first half.

Like Lords Group Trading, the TPXimpact share price should bounce back in the year ahead. The prospective multiple of six, falling to five next year, is modest. There is potential for a significant re-rating when investors regain confidence in the business.

Andrew Hore is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of interactive investor.