AIM: 19 New Companies Set To Float

It's great to be back, and I'm raring to go. So let's get straight to business...

AIM is set for a post-Christmas rush...

No less than 19 companies will scramble to float.

Brazilian sugar and bioethanol group Clean Energy Brazil, Petmin and Sabien are all lined up to list this week.

As I mentioned a few editions ago, December witnessed a frenzy of IPOs... the first week of the New Year is no different and some of them look very interesting.

Welcome the newcomer...

Property investor Metro Baltic Horizons started well on their debut following a placing at 100p a share to raise £26.2m.

Metro Baltic, which invests in property development and income generating opportunities in the Riga in Latvia, Tallinn in Estonia and St Petersburg in Russia, jumped up 8.5% at one stage.

So will 2007 be as busy as the latter half of this year for IPOs?

You betcha!

And here are some of the planned additions to AIM for 2007...

Phoenix Resources plc – Offer closes 10 Jan 07

Phoenix was formed in April 2006 to carry out oil and gas exploration in Western Australia.

They already have relationships with some listed and private oil and gas exploration and production companies. Not only that, they have used these to secure the farm in agreements.

It' a risky punt at this stage so have a further look by all means, but DON'T go investing any of your hard earned cash just yet.

Give myself and Tom the chance to scope it out first.

British Country Inns 2 plc – Offer closes 26 Jan 07

British Country intends to grow a portfolio of about 8 to 10 pubs by acquiring existing freehold and long leasehold units - assuming they achieve maximum subscription.

The directors of the company have a great deal of experience in the trade, and were responsible for forming individual units into a profitable estate... English Country Inns.

Consequently, it became an attractive takeover target and was sold to Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries in September 05 for £13.65m.

Good experience and past success is fantastic, but as an avid penny shares fan, you should know that doesn't mean everything they touch now will turn to gold in the future.

So we'll be watching this one closely.

Number One Venues – offer closes 27 March 2007

Number One Venues formed to create a flexible hospitality and sports venue in Number One Piccadilly. This will be unique in central London as they'll have the capability to cater for up to 1,000 guests in an arena.

The double height upper floor can also be turned into an audiotorium with banked seating. The lower two floors include a mezzanine giving more flexibility to be integrated or closed off, according to requirements.

All the money is expected to be raised from the float - but be wary here. If they fall short it won't do your investments any good. This one's promising, but let's see how the float goes before deciding how to act on this one.

A director's expectation and what actually happens can be very different indeed. But it's worth bringing to your attention. We'll be following this up in the next the three months.

Foresight 2 VCT – C share offer, closes 5 April 2007

This represents a new investment opportunity from the award winning manager of the best performing VCT ever launched.

What this new class of share will enable you to do is get a tax-efficient access to a wide range of technology-based growth companies, and for the first time in a VCT, exposure to the fast growing, diversified market of UK Sustainable Invesments.

The VCT will be underpinned by a lower risk investment strategy that aims to produce a minimum tax-free dividend of 5% per annum from year 3 onwards.

In addition, Foresight's proven ability to find winners offers uncapped tax-free potential within the VCT, experience that has made Foresight manager of the best performing VCT for the last 6 years running.

Does this all sound too good to be true?

Tune in for our special reports over the next few months and discover how to separate the dogs from the diamonds in the world of IPOs.

It's great to be back in the hotspot after a well-earned rest.

I look forward to working hard to make 2007 your most profitable yet.

Regards,

Melissa Carroll

for The Penny Sleuth