New analysis of the performance of the Alternative Investment Market claims to provide hard evidence showing that international fast-growth companies are increasingly choosing London's junior segment over rival small-cap exchanges despite criticism from the US that the it exposes investors to risk.

The surge in Aim listings from companies in under-developed markets such as India, China and Russia in recent years had caused critics, particularly in the US, to claim that London Stock Exchange's junior market was too lightly regulated and companies too likely to list, with SEC commissioner Roel Campos saying in March this year: "I'm concerned that 30% of issuers that list on Aim are gone in a year. That feels like a casino to me."