Australia: AIM Companies – Website Requirements

Existing AIM companies are now required to comply with the AIM Rule 26 that requires AIM companies to maintain a website displaying specified information. A new AIM company is required to disclose such information in its pre-admission announcement.

The information that needs to be made available on an AIM company's website includes:

• a description of the company's business and if it is an investing company, its investing strategy
• names and brief biographical details of its directors
• a description of the responsibilities of each director and details of any board committees and their responsibilities
• the company's country of incorporation and main country of operation
• where the company is not incorporated in the UK, a statement that the rights of shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders in a UK incorporated company
• its current constitutional documents
• details of any other exchanges or trading platforms on which the company has applied or agreed to have any of its securities admitted or traded
• the number of AIM securities on issue (noting any held as treasury shares) and, insofar as it is aware, the percentage of AIM securities that is not in public hands together with the identify and percentage holdings of its significant shareholders (This information is to be updated at least every six months.)
• details of any restrictions on the transfer of its AIM securities
• its most recent annual report published pursuant to the AIM Rules and all half-yearly, quarterly or similar reports published since the last annual report as required under the AIM Rules
• all notifications the AIM company has made in the past 12 months
• its most recent admission document, together with any circulars or similar publications sent to shareholders within the past 12 months
• details of its nominated adviser and other key advisers.

The Guidance Notes to the AIM Rules state that the above information should be kept up to date and the last date on which it was updated should be stated on the website. The Guidance Notes also suggest 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 Rule 26, so as not to infringe any securities laws that may apply to it.

As a member of the International Lawyers Network, our colleagues in the UK are able to provide advice on UK law.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.