Companies: ADW    BGX    DISL    LAM    NWF    RAB    SBE    TVZ   

With small-caps taking the brunt of the loss of confidence in the markets, AIM has
plunged to its lowest levels in over five years, with the beleaguered AIM Index falling by around 16 per cent in September alone.

Amid its constituent companies coming under share price pressure over the course of the past month have been a number of resource-focused counters, including hedge fund manager RAB Capital, down 59 per cent, Phil Edmonds’s African resources counter CAMEC, down 48 per cent, and two of AIM’s three largest companies by market cap, Sibir Energy and Lamprell, each having fallen by more than 20 per cent.

At the smaller end of AIM, falls were even more marked, as micro-cap investment specialist Addworth fell 70 per cent following the cleaving off of much of its executive board and the resignation of its nominated adviser, and caravan retailer Discover Leisure gave up 71 per cent after warning on profits.

Amidst the gloom, there were many upbeat tales, with predators circling around bargain stocks such as Bioganix and Travelzest. In addition, one of the junior market’s longest-serving stocks, NWF, climbed 31 per cent on news it is selling off its garden centres arm.