the companies in question and reproduced in good faith.
Introduction
Welcome to Spotlight, a bonus report which is distributed eight times a year alongside your digital copy of Shares
It provides small caps with a platform to tell their stories in their own words.
The company profiles are written by the businesses themselves rather than by Shares journalists.
They pay a fee to get their message across to both existing shareholders and prospective investors.
These profiles are paid-for promotions and are not independent comment. As such, they cannot be considered unbiased. Equally, you are getting the inside track from the people who should best know the company and its strategy.
Some of the firms profiled in Spotlight will appear at our webinars and in-person events where you get to hear from management first hand.
Click here for details of upcoming events and how to register for free tickets.
Previous issues of Spotlight are available on our website.
Members of staff may hold shares in some of the securities written about in this publication. This could create a conflict of interest.
Where such a conflict exists, it will be disclosed.
This publication contains information and ideas which are of interest to investors.
It does not provide advice in relation to investments or any other financial matters. Comments in this publication must not be relied upon by readers when they make their investment decisions.
Investors who require advice should consult a properly qualified independent adviser. This publication, its staff and AJ Bell Media do not, under any circumstances, accept liability for losses suffered by readers as a result of their investment decisions.
The best performing AIM stocks in 2025
Find out who has done best on the junior market this year
It has been a turbulent year for AIM stocks, as it has been for most financial markets in 2025 but some names have really stood out through the period.
We ran the numbers on the AIM-quoted companies which had performed best so far this year, concentrating on those names with a market valuation of £50 million or more.
Gold prices have soared in recent months and this has supported strong gains for gold miners on the junior market including Thor Explorations (THX:AIM). The company reported a record-breaking second quarter performance – moving from a net debt to a net cash position of $52.8 million. This helped underpin the continuing payment of dividends, having made its maiden payout in May.
Elsewhere in the resources sector, Empire Metals PLC (EEE:AIM) has been actively expanding its in-house project development team and has started large-scale metallurgical testing at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia. The company recently completed its largest drilling programme to date at the Pitfield project, marking a key step toward delivering a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.
Specialty pharmaceutical business Shield Therapeutics (STX:AIM) reported an 80% revenue growth in the first half of 2025, driven by increased sales of its iron deficiency treatment ACCRUFeR. The company sold approximately 84,000 ACCRUFeR prescriptions during the period, representing a 30% increase from the first half of 2024. Shield‘s loss narrowed to $9.5 million from $15.5 million a year earlier. The company reiterated guidance that it would turn cash flow positive by the end of 2025.
Games developer Frontier Developments (FDEV:AIM) recently reported strong financial results for the financial year ended 31 May 2025. The company‘s revenue increased to £90.6 million, with significant growth in its Creative Management Simulation (CMS) games. Frontier Developments also announced a share buyback programme of up to £10 million, subject to shareholder approval.
In June, the company revealed an October release date for the third instalment of the critically acclaimed JWE (Jurassic World Evolution) game following hot on the heels of the Jurassic World: Rebirth movie released in early July.
Workplace benefit and health insurance specialist Personal Group (PGH:AIM) just published a trading update for the six months to June showing an 11% increase in revenue to £23.3 million and a 41% jump in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to £5.5 million. More than 90% of revenue came from recurring sources, providing good visibility for the full year and the group enjoyed high retention rates across all areas of the business.
Best performing AIM stocks in 2025
London Bitcoin Company: managing digital assets in a digital age
London Bitcoin Company (BTC) is one of the very few cryptocurrency enterprises which is both listed on the main market of the LSE (London Stock Exchange) and is focused entirely on bitcoin.
From a global brand perspective, its BTC ticker gives London BTC unique positioning.
London BTC’s main market presence also provides access to a broad and diverse international investor base.
BITCOIN TREASURY AND STRATEGIC ASSET MANAGEMENT
As of mid-August 2025, the company had 85.97 bitcoin in treasury at an average price of $103,137 for a total cost of $8.9 million.
Bitcoin mining across four states in the US and the Labrador region of Canada, with over 1,000 operational bitcoin miners.
Membership of the BTC Inc (Bitcoin for Corporations) initiative which aligns London BTC with other forward-thinking companies to adopt bitcoin as a primary reserve asset.
This collaboration underscores our belief in bitcoin‘s role as a hedge against inflation and a store of value in the digital age.
London BTC offers investment exposure to the bitcoin sector and is a rapidly growing player in
North America’s bitcoin mining industry.
This makes London BTC, which is debt free, a rare investment opportunity in the UK.
Global interest in cryptocurrencies continues to climb rapidly and bitcoin is increasingly recognised as a mainstream asset class.
Since February 2021, some 32 multiple spot bitcoin ETFs have been approved in the US and other global markets, and this has added increasing credibility to digital assets.
These ETFs are attracting institutional investors, reinforcing bitcoin’s position as a serious alternative to traditional fiat currencies.
As of this month, bitcoin’s market value stands at around $2.3 trillion. The price of bitcoin has doubled in the last 12 months alone.
As part of the continuous digital currency revolution, London BTC is committed to expanding its role in the bitcoin ecosystem and being a part of the adoption of digital assets worldwide.
FUTURE OF BITCOIN
Significantly for the future of bitcoin, the US president signed an executive order in January 2025, which aims to establish the US as a global leader in blockchain innovation while reducing regulatory uncertainty for the crypto industry.
And in March 2025 the US president issued an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve for the US.
When Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first bitcoin in 2009, the ultimate number of bitcoins was determined to only ever reach 21 million.
There are currently 19.9 million bitcoins mined, and it is estimated that it will take another 140 years to mine to the very last one.
London BTC is building up a strategic bitcoin holding by installing miners within third-party hosting facilities throughout the US and Canada.
Currently, London BTC operates bitcoin miners in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas in the US and in Labrador in Canada and this footprint will continue to expand.
London BTC plans to have its growing population of miners hashing to London BTC’s wallet from each North American state, providing a diverse and de-risked platform for revenue generation.
With each new expansion, it aims to install new miners that have an attractive operating margin over the prevailing bitcoin price on installation, thereby always modernising the fleet and keeping up to date with the latest competitive technology.
LONDON BTC STRATEGY
London BTC remains at the forefront of the bitcoin mining industry by adopting state ofthe-art ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) miners, ensuring continuous upgrades with each new model to maximize efficiency and output.
As the cryptocurrency landscape rapidly evolves, London BTC is committed to maintaining its competitive edge through
technological innovation and operational excellence.
This forward-thinking approach aligns with the risk-reward appetite of investors seeking exposure to innovative, high-growth firms in the digital asset sector.
By consistently optimising its mining infrastructure, London BTC reinforces its position as a leading player in the Europeanlisted bitcoin mining industry, while aiming to deliver long-term value to shareholders.
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE AND ADOPTION
With bitcoin and other digital assets gaining mainstream acceptance, regulatory clarity is becoming more pronounced.
Dozens of governments have now adopted regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies that promote growth.
The UK is steadily moving towards the creation of a comprehensive regulatory landscape for digital assets, which will bring companies like London BTC into the mainstream in the eyes of investors.
LONG-TERM GROWTH IN THE BITCOIN MARKET
London BTC sees the long-term growth prospects of bitcoin market as significant.
Many analysts predict that bitcoin will continue to appreciate over the next decade as government policy changes, mainstream adoption increases, and supply diminishes due to the halving events that occur about every four years.
London BTC offers an option to potentially capitalise on the long-term price appreciation of bitcoin while benefiting from the company’s operational expansion and market share growth.
tinyBuild: A global video games publisher with a new strategy
tinyBuild (TBLD:AIM) is a global video games publisher and developer with a large catalogue of premium PC and console titles such as Hello Neighbor, SpeedRunners and Potion Craft.
After a management change in 2023 and a successful fundraise in January 2024, tinyBuild was able to reset its strategy after a difficult period.
The management focused on tighter cost control, stricter green lighting of new games, and developing new own IP (intellectual property).
The company has made tough decisions on costs to free up resources so it can invest in high-potential games.
By early 2025, the benefits of the reset could be seen in tinyBuild’s numbers.
At the end of May 2025, cash was in the midsingle-digit millions with no borrowings. And in its trading update in June 2025, sales for the first five months of the year were slightly ahead of expectations, despite the market backdrop remaining challenging.
tinyBuild continues to carefully manage cash ahead of major new game launches and has maintained a disciplined investment approach focused on evergreen franchises. That prudence has been paired with a rationalisation of the company’s portfolio of assets, including the sale of testing studio Red Cerberus in April 2025, to focus the company on publishing and development.
WHAT NEXT FOR TINYBUILD?
So, what comes next? tinyBuild’s pipeline of games is the strongest it has ever been, with community interest building around distinctive, systems-rich projects, such as Streets of Rogue 2, that will keep players engaged over the longterm. In the first half of 2024, the company’s games appeared in over three million wish lists, reflecting a bigger, more involved audience than any other non-AAA publisher.
tinyBuild’s games are developed and marketed with a data-driven approach: open development via public playtests, iterative
demos, and content updates that reward the time invested by players in the game.
As the games find their audiences, budgets and features are reassessed, and the release date adjusted to realise the full potential of the game at launch.
The tinyBuild approach to new games is deliberately patient — building communities first, then scaling into broader awareness — and it has the knock-on benefit of boosting the company’s backcatalogue as new players go hunting for similar experiences.
platform launches, downloadable content, and sequels.
This creates steady and predictable sales at reduced risk, and older games can continue to grow their audience, with some having their best years in terms of revenue, years after they have launched.
A strong back catalogue supports investment in promising game prototypes to turn them into new, long-lasting franchises, with the IP-owned by tinyBuild. Kingmakers, SAND, FEROCIOUS and Streets of Rogue 2 are some of the most anticipated names, with three of them in the top 100 global Steam wish lists rank.
As it looks ahead, tinyBuild’s strategy is clear: invest where player validation is strongest and double-down on games designed to be played for hundreds of hours.
Green-light decisions are anchored in playtest data; marketing leans on demos and community events rather than big ad buys; and production resources are concentrated on titles with the clearest path to long-term player engagement.
Successful titles create monetisable events every year, including game updates, new
Recent months have delivered more evidence of the success of the reset, and tinyBuild’s approach.
Deadside’s console debut drew 100,000 new players in its first week and topped 150,000 within a fortnight — the strongest console launch the company has ever had. On PC, The King Is Watching sold 100,000 copies in just four days on Steam.
As it enters the second half of 2025, tinyBuild has done the hard work to refocus and streamline the business and build a more resilient balance sheet to manage the tough market conditions.
This means it has the resources to invest in successful games that in turn become long-term franchises. With a strong back catalogue and pipeline of high-potential, exciting new games, tinyBuild is ready to start a new chapter.