New AIM RULE 26 - Websites
Internet Posting

by Jeremy J. Landau, Owen E. Waft . March 2007

On 20 February 2007 the LSE published amendments to the AIM Rules for Companies, including amendments to require enhanced disclosure of information by an AIM company on its website (Rule 26).

The new Rule 26, which is targeted at ensuring that investors and potential investors can access a minimum level of information about an AIM company at all times, requires an AIM company to maintain a website on which key company information must be disclosed and kept up to date. Existing and new AIM companies will have until 20 August 2007 to comply with this obligation.

Every AIM company will be required to update their websites to include information, such as:

• the names and biographical details of its directors;

• the identity and percentage holdings of significant shareholders;

• the percentage of its shares which are not ‘in public hands’ which includes shares held by directors and their families and any person who is the subject of a lock-in arrangement;

• its current constitutional documents;

• investing strategy where it is an investing company;

• details of any other exchanges or trading platforms on which its securities are listed; and

• annual, half yearly, quarterly or similar reports and announcements.

The AIM rules do not specify how this information should presented save that it should be easily accessible from one part of the website, specify the last date on which it was updated and included a statement that the information is being disclosed for the purposes of Rule 26.

Guidance notes to the new Rule 26 state that an AIM company should take appropriate legal advice on how to make available any prospectus, admission document, circular or similar shareholder publication in compliance with this rule so as not to infringe any securities laws that may apply to it.

AIM companies may have to consider redesigning their website to provide investors with quick and easy access to the above information. Typically,  AIM companies use an investor relations hotkey located on the navigation bar and links to the most recent regulatory announcements in a news section on the home page. The AIM company should make .pdf versions of key documents available for download, including the Admission Document, constitutional documents and Reports and Accounts.