AIM’s best companies of 2025: shortlist revealed

The 2025 AIM Awards dinner will be held in London on 1 October and the shortlist for the awards has been announced (www.aim-awards.co.uk).

• Invest with ii: Top UK Shares | Share Tips & Ideas | Open a Trading Account

Best investor communication

This shortlist is completely different to last year’s, although feed, food and fuels supplier NWF Group (LSE:NWF) won the award in 2022. NWF is involved in markets that are affected by price movements, so its profit does not grow consistently, and it has to make sure that investors understand that.

Building products supplier Alumasc Group (LSE:ALU) has been outperforming its sector. Capital investment in efficiency and new product development have helped the growth, as has increasing exports.

Animal health business Animalcare Group (LSE:ANCR) has reorganised its business to focus on more profitable products and expanded in equine treatments.

Energy optimisation and assurance services provider Inspired (LSE:INSE) was taken over during the year and is no longer on AIM. Prior to the takeover Inspired was successful in increasing the understanding of the business and the share price was recovering.

Shares in Personal Group Holdings (LSE:PGH) had been in decline, but chief executive Paula Brown has sold a loss-making operation and set out how the employee benefits and insurance company can grow over the coming years.

Electrical connectors and accessories supplier Volex (LSE:VLX) has benefited from having operations in a broad spread of sectors and countries. Volex has been successful in making investors aware of the operations and how they have been affected by economic changes.

Best guess: Volex

Best use of AIM

AdvancedAdvT Ltd Ordinary Shares (LSE:ADVT) switched from the Main Market in January 2024, prior to which it acquired a group of financial and compliance software companies from Capita. This is the latest software consolidation vehicle helmed by Vin Murria. Recent acquisitions are Celaton, which operates intelligent document processing platform instream, workforce management software company HFX and digital transformation business Goss Technology. There is still plenty of cash for further acquisitions.  

Amcomri Group (LSE:AMCO) is also on the best newcomer list having joined AIM just before the end of 2024. It has a buy-and-build strategy in the engineering sector. EMC Elite Engineering Services and Rando Technologies have been bought this year and there are more acquisitions in the pipeline.

Animal health company Animalcare Group (LSE:ANCR) used its AIM quotation to raise cash to help finance the acquisition equine veterinary business Randlab. In 2017, Animalcare won the AIM transaction of the year award for the reverse takeover of Ecuphar, which brought a European distribution network and additional treatments.

• How to spot shares with ‘multi-bagger’ potential
• Insider: Aviva chief among FTSE 100 director deals

Greatland Resources Ltd (LSE:GGP) is the newly re-domiciled Greatland Gold, which acquired the 70% of the Havieron gold copper project in Australia it did not own from Newmont Corporation. An ASX listing was obtained and just over £30m of cash raised.

Investment company Onward Opportunities Ltd (LSE:ONWD) floated on AIM in March 2023 to invest in undervalued smaller companies on a three-to-five year timescale. There have been two cash-raisings in the past year to invest in a significant pipeline of opportunities. Many of the investee companies are on AIM. The net asset value, or NAV, of the company has risen from 100p/share to 129.5p/share at the end of August 2025. It has outperformed AIM by 34% over the same period.

The Property Franchise Group (LSE:TPFG) has made multiple acquisitions while it has been on AIM, including fellow AIM companies Hunters and Belvoir. It has managed to weather various conditions in the property market and continue to increase profit and dividend.

Best guess: The Property Franchise Group

Best technology

Avacta Group (LSE:AVCT) has developed the pre CISION platform to produce peptide drug conjugates or Affimer drug conjugates that help to treat cancer tumours. Its treatment AVA6000 is involved in phase 1b studies.

Payments services provider Boku Inc Ordinary Shares (LSE:BOKU) is accelerating its growth through the development of digital wallets. The local payments network is being built up around the world.  

Concurrent Technologies (LSE:CNC) has accelerated the rate at which it can launch new embedded computing products. It is growing defence sales.

Intercede Group (LSE:IGP) provides cybersecurity technology to prevent breaches of systems through better credentials with stronger authentication.

Scancell Holdings (LSE:SCLP) is developing immunotherapies to treat cancer. iSCIB1+ is the lead product from the DNA ImmunoBody platform, while Modi-1 is the lead peptide immunotherapy candidate from the Moditope platform. Both are involved in phase 2 trials.

Filtronic (LSE:FTC) has grown sharply on the back of investment in satellite communications technology and its link up with SpaceX. There were multiple forecast upgrades in the past year.

Best guess: Filtronic

Animal health business Animalcare Group has reorganised its business to focus on more profitable products and expanded in equine treatments. Photo: Eileen Groome

Diversity Champion

The shortlist includes Central Asia Metals (LSE:CAML), veterinary practices operator CVS Group (LSE:CVSG), HSS Hire Group (LSE:HSS), Impax Asset Management Group (LSE:IPX), builders merchant Lords Group Trading and Personal Group Holdings, which has a female executive team and the majority of directors ae women.

Best guess: Personal Group Holdings

AIM transaction of the year

Brave Bison Group (LSE:BBSN) acquired influencer marketing agency The Fifth from News Corp. This fits with the Brave Bison SocialChain division. News Corp was paid in cash and shares and bought a further £200,000 worth of shares in the market.

Fevertree Drinks (LSE:FEVR) secured a strategic partnership with brewer Molson Coors, which acquired a 9.2% stake in the mixer drinks supplier. The company’s mixer drinks will be sold through Molson Coors’ US distribution network and marketing will be ramped up. There will also be US production of mixer drinks.

• ii view: Fevertree shares get fresh boost from half-year results
• Sign up to our free newsletter for investment ideas, latest news and award-winning analysis

Fiinu (LSE:BANK) bought Poland-based foreign exchange brokerage Everfex. In 2024, Everfex handled more than $1 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions. This provides the company with a profit generating business while it seeks to build up business for the Plugin Overdraft product.

As pointed out in the best use of AIM award section Greatland Resources acquired the 70% of the Havieron gold copper project in Australia it did not own from Newmont Corporation. This means it owns 100% of a highly prospective project.

Metals Exploration (LSE:MTL) acquired fellow AIM company Condor Gold. The main asset is the La India gold project in Nicaragua. Metals Exploration is in a stronger position to bring the project into production and chief executive Darren Bowden has experience in the region.

Outsourced surgery provider One Health Group Ordinary Shares (LSE:OHGR) raised cash when it moved to AIM to finance the construction of a surgical hub. This will replace some of the third-party hospital theatres used and increase capacity for surgical procedures. A single hub can generate annual income of £7 million.

Best guess: Greatland Resources

AIM corporate governance

The shortlist includes Alumasc, Inspiration Healthcare Group (LSE:IHC) and Renew Holdings (LSE:RNWH). Lords Group Trading and Personal Group Holdings are also on the diversity shortlist. Neonatal medical devices developer Inspiration Healthcare has disappointed the market because of delays to a Middle East contract. It has overhauled its board and chief executive and founder Neil Campbell has left the board.

Best guess: Inspiration Healthcare

Fevertree Drinks secured a strategic partnership with brewer Molson Coors, which acquired a 9.2% stake in the mixer drinks supplier. Photo: John M. Chase

AIM growth business of the year

Woundcare company Advanced Medical Solutions Group (LSE:AMS) has invested in developing new products and supplemented this with acquisitions. Tissue repair and skin closure company Peters Surgical added complementary products in cardiovascular and gynaecological markets. There was a bid approach, but it was not followed through. This did highlight the low valuation.

Telecoms billing software supplier Cerillion (LSE:CER) is one of the best performers over the past nine years despite a recent dip in the share price. It has consistently won contracts and generated cash.  

Defence technology supplier Cohort (LSE:CHRT) has grown organically and via acquisitions. The order book was worth £616.4 million at the end of April 2025, which meant that 79% of this year’s forecast revenues were already covered. Cohort was named company of the year at the 2025 Small Cap Awards.

• Shares for the future: Cohort - can small-cap in hot sector stay agile?
• Experience of an AIM investor: tactics, tips and big profits

Craneware (LSE:CRW) has a significant market share in the provision of admin software to US hospitals. Customer retention is more than 90% and profit is growing steadily.

Customer engagement technology developer Netcall (LSE:NET) has increasingly moved to a cloud-based model, which improves visibility of revenues. Revenues growth is set to continue to be in double digits.

Tatton Asset Management (LSE:TAM) is growing its assets under management at an impressive rate and increasing profit. In March 2021, the assets under management were £9 billion and they rose to £22.9 billion by the end of June 2025. The target is assets under management of £30 billion by March 2029.

Best guess: Tatton Asset Management

Best newcomer

Amcomri Group is also in the best use of AIM shortlist. The share price has risen from 55p to 103p.

Accountancy firm MHA (LSE:MHA) is a member of the Baker Tilly network, which is the tenth largest international accountancy network. Since joining AIM, MHA announced plans to buy Baker Tilly South East Europe Holdings for up to €24 million. The placing and offer price was 100p and it has risen to 147p.

Outsourced surgery provider One Health moved from Aquis during the year. It raised cash to finance a surgical hub for the company. This could be open later in 2026 and provide additional capacity for growth. The share price has risen from 180p to 239p.

Occupational health services provider Optima Health (LSE:OPT) was demerged from Marlowe, which was recently taken over by Mitie. The share price initially fell but it has been on an upward trend since early 2025.

Quantum Base Holdings (LSE:QUBE) joined AIM to gain greater credibility and raise cash at 23.1p/share – the current share price is 24pQuantum Base has developed Quantum Identities (Q-ID), which provides near unbreakable and non-replicable authenticity tags. The Q-ID tags can be applied as inks to products and authenticated via smartphone or app.

Best guess: MHA

Entrepreneur of the year

Louis Hall of Cerillion and Paul Hogarth of Tatton Asset Management were on the list last year and both companies are on the AIM growth business of the year shortlist.

Keith Neilson of Craneware has built up a Scotland based software company which has all its sales in the US.

Peter Keeling of pharma data services provider Diaceutics (LSE:DXRX) has grown the business while investing in new platforms and services. DXRX is the diagnostic network platform. Last year, Diaceutics launched PMx, a suite of services for the promotion and commercialisation of precision medicines.

Andy Walters of Quartix Technologies (LSE:QTX) has built up a major telematics company. Annualised recurring revenues are £35 million.

Max Vermoken of SigmaRoc (LSE:SRC) has taken a shell company and turned it into a substantial building materials business and one of the largest companies on AIM. The most significant purchase was the European lime assets of CRH. The share price is starting to better reflect the progress made.  

Best guess: Louis Hall of Cerillion

AIM company of the year

This shortlist is completely different to last year’s. Fonix Ordinary Shares (LSE:FNX) is the only company on this shortlist that is not nominated in any other category. Fonix provides mobile payments and messaging services. It joined AIM in 2020 and has consistently grown revenues and profit since then.

Craneware is the only company in the list with a total of three nominations. Boku Inc, Cohort, Filtronic and Sigmaroc all have two nominations. Sigmaoc would be a fitting winner, but Cohort will probably get the nod.

Best guess: Cohort

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