The Pre-Market environment welcomes APTE and opens a GROWTH segment

• Three institutions have joined the initiative, which comprises ten companies

• The Environment opens up to those growth companies with a longer track record and higher revenues

The Steering and Monitoring Committee of the Pre-Market Environment has announced the participation of the Asociación de Parques Científicos y Tecnológicos de España (APTE). The association is made up of 64 members, of which 51 are scientific and technological parks hosting more than 8,000 companies, the most innovative in Spain.

The Environment will enable APTE to offer its companies the support and valuable information necessary to help them consider the funding provided by capital markets as an additional option to finance their growth and internationalisation projects.

APTE adds to two other institutions that joined the Environment last May: SociosInversores.com and Startupxplore, two crowdfunding platforms regulated by the Spanish stock market supervisor -CNMV. SociosInversores.com, the oldest in Spain, has been in the market for 8 years and through its portal has provided funding to more than 120 companies. Startupxplore already has more than 10,000 investors looking to invest in large projects, which are previously screened and analysed.

Another novelty is the agreement reached to create a new segment, namely, the growth segment, which adds to the start-ups segment. The former will accommodate those growth SMEs with a longer track record and higher revenues interested in getting to know in detail the capital markets financing alternative.

The Pre-Market Environment is a joint initiative by BME and Big Ban born in November 2016 to help start-ups get to know the operation of the stock market and gain access to new investors. Following the latest additions, the Environment currently comprises ten companies.

The Pre-Market Environment remains open to more companies on a continuous basis. Among the requirements to access the Environment these must be public limited or limited companies and at least two years old, submit financial statements for the previous year and have a three-year business plan.