• Strongest month for money raising since July 2006

May was the strongest month for money raising through IPOs on the London Stock Exchange since July last year. 23 new companies, from fourteen different sectors, conducted IPOs on the Exchange’s markets during the month, raising £5.7 billion between them. This total included: three international IPOs on the Main Market, which raised £4.3 billion between them; seven UK IPOs on the Main Market, raising £720.5 million between them; and 13 AIM IPOs raising £685.9 million.

Notable IPOs during May included: Pharmstandard, the Russian pharmaceutical company which issued GDRs on the international Main Market; Russian bank VTB Bank; the Local Shopping REIT, which was the first new UK specialist start-up Real Estate Investment Trust to be admitted to trading since the introduction of the UK REIT tax regime this year; and the paper company Powerflute, which became the first Finnish company to join AIM.

Since 1 January 2007 there have been 101 IPOs on the Exchange’s markets, raising £12.8 billion, an increase of 31 per cent on the £9.8 billion raised through IPOs over the same period last year.

It was also a strong month on the secondary markets. The total number of SETS trades during May was 10.5 million, up 33 per cent on May last year, itself an extremely strong month. The total value traded on SETS during the month was up 12 per cent on last year to £177.5 billion. The average daily number of trades was 499,358 and the average daily value traded on SETS was £8.5 billion.

The growth in SETS trading continues to reflect in part very strong growth on the SETSmm segment. There were 2.6 million SETSmm trades during the month, up 53 per cent on May last year and now accounting for a quarter of all SETS trades. The total value traded on SETSmm grew 28 per cent to £18.2 billion. Trading on the IOB was also strong, with a record 96,627 trades during the month, an increase of 24 per cent on May last year, while the value traded during the month was £7.5 billion.

There were 11.6 million UK equity trades during the month, up 29 per cent on May last year. The total value of UK shares traded increased 18 per cent on last year to £373.9 billion, and the average daily value traded in UK equities was a record at £17.8 billion.

Three new ETFs were admitted to trading on the Exchange during the month. In total, there were 39,429 ETF trades, an increase of 23 per cent on the total for May last year. The total value traded in ETFs increased 43 per cent on May last year to £2.8 billion.

RNS, the Exchange’s service for the dissemination of company news, issued 16,905 announcements during May, up 8 per cent on May last year. Of these, 39 per cent or 6,666 were news and results announcements, representing an 86 per cent share of all such announcements made in the UK market.

There were 21 trading days during May, the same number as in 2006.

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Notes to editors:

• About the London Stock Exchange
  
  The London Stock Exchange is the world’s premier international equity exchange and a leading provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and the trading of shares.
  
  
  The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange in the world and Europe's largest pool of liquidity. By the end of 2006, the market capitalisation of UK and international companies on the London Stock Exchange’s markets amounted to £4.4 trillion, with £6.7 trillion of equity business transacted over the year.
  
  
  The London Stock Exchange is a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and is supervised by the Financial Services Authority.
  
  
  Companies considering flotation have a choice of markets:
  AIM
  
  AIM is the London Stock Exchange’s international market specifically designed for smaller, growing companies, combining the benefits of a public flotation with appropriate levels of regulation.
  
  
  Main Market
  
  The London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for established companies seeking international recognition is one of the world’s best known, longest-established and most liquid markets. It is home to some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, giving them access to one of the deepest pools of capital in the world.
  
  
  Professional Securities Market
  
  The Professional Securities Market was established in July 2005, to coincide with the introduction of the FSA's new Listing Rules. PSM provides a solution for those issuers seeking to list securities in London without having to re-state their financial information to IFRS or follow the additional requirements of an offering to retail investors. Debt securities or depository receipts of any denomination may be listed on PSM on production of a prospectus aimed at a wholesale or professional audience.


• IPO
  
  An IPO or Initial Public Offering is when a new company joins one of our markets and raises capital by issuing shares. This excludes transfers and introductions (when companies join the market without raising money).


• Indices
  
  Indices are calculated and managed by FTSE Group, a world-leader in the creation and management of global equity indices. The FTSE Group is jointly owned by the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times, but operates as an autonomous company.
  
  
  For information about the company or any FTSE indices, please media@ftse.com


• SETS – the electronic order book
  
  It is over eight years since the launch of SETS and the order book continues to go from strength to strength, compressing spreads and significantly improving liquidity. SETS has recently delivered record increases in the number of orders entered and executed as new technology improves efficiency and fuels growth.


• SETSmm
  
  SETSmm is the Exchange’s trading service for FTSE 250 and other leading non order book securities. By combining the best features of the existing SETS and SEAQ trading services, SETSmm appeals to market users who want to trade electronically, as well as those customers who use the market making system.


• International Order Book (IOB)
  

  The IOB is the Exchange's order book for the trading of international Depositary Receipts, negotiable certificates which represent ownership of a given number of a company’s shares and can be listed and traded independently from the underlying shares.



• Retail Trading Figures
  
  Retail trading figures are available from our website at –
  www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/products/membershiptrading/retailtradestat
  Figures are available from November 2002 to date.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE - MONTHLY FACTSHEET FIGURES
MAY 2007

	2007			2006
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING	Month	Year to date		Month	Year to date
Equity Trading Value (£m)	373,919	1,704,768		316,791	1,418,773
Number of Equity Trades	11,563,229	52,872,731		8,982,978	36,017,785
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING
Equity Trading Value (£m)	457,268	2,089,154		290,620	1,462,761
Number of Equity Trades	3,295,123	15,106,126		1,518,292	8,577,687

ORDER BOOK TRADING
Order Book Value (£m)	177,544	819,760		158,831	641,986
Order Book Trades	10,486,526	47,534,083		7,882,434	30,398,986

	May 2007		May 2006
DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)		2,146		1,862
TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES		3,249		3,249
Main Market UK	1,264		1,326
Main Market International	320		325
of which techMARK	128		144
AIM	1,639		1,528
Professional Securities Market (Equity only)	26		10

	2007		2006
MONEY RAISED (£m)	Month	Year to date	Month	Year to date
Equity Money Raised:
New issues: Main Market UK	720	3,474	1,089	2,407
New issues: Main Market International	4,267	7,164	129	2,681
New issues: AIM	745	2,343	1,264	4,410
Further issues: Main Market UK	1,609	4,268	1,572	3,294
Further issues: Main Market International	31	510	45	662
Further issues: AIM	1,205	4,320	891	2,882
PSM (new & further, UK & International)	-	-	-	527
COMPANIES ADMITTED	39	146	48	244
Debt Money Raised (£m)
Main Market UK	18,309	65,711	9,062	55,202
Main Market International	33,617	126,799	16,923	84,611
PSM (UK & International)	2,785	8,894	343	7,293

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