With the announcement of administration, I've now lost my investment in ATCG. I lost around two months savings, not a huge amount in the great scheme of things. But enough to make me really angry with myself for being such a numpty.

So as always with the fool, I'm going to try and learn where I went wrong. Any advice would be gratefully received.

I think the following can apply to a lot of AIM companies which have gone under. But in particular:


1. Too much debt

On the cusp of the credit crunch, the company raised a large amount of debt to buy ROCOM. This left it terribly exposed to the vagaries of credit crunch, and overleveraged.

2. A large turnover of senior management

iirc (sorry I can't access all the news from the website) The FD was replaced quite frequently. The CEO stood down in march, and then a NED stood down in July. Always a bad sign.

3. constantly annoucing RNS's

I seem to recall someone indicating that this is a bad sign, and was a trademark of the dotcom boom/bust?

4. Its AIM

The AIM market has been absolutely hammmered during the recession. And I still feel that a lot of companies are able to ride roughshod over the shareholders. Such is the risk of AIM.

5. Holding on

I thought a few months ago, about jumping out and getting a few quid for the shares. I didn't, and now I have nothing. Sometimes its best to take the hit.


So my small foray into the AIM market has been severely hammered. Largely through my own lack of judgement. MPH and now ATCG has gone under. My great last hope is AMS. Currently up 30%, but its SP has been hammered recently. I suspect it will announce more bad news in the interims. But I continue to hold due to the Liquiband deal.

Anyway good luck everyone, and lets soldier on.