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The successful float of engineering services group Kentz (KENZ:AIM) last week gave investors a glimmer of hope that market conditions are improving. Overseas property and technology groups are among several sectors gearing up for new London listings. It does appear possible for new entrants still to join Aim or the main market, but the renewed optimism could just be an illusion.

The weekly floats table printed in Shares has been getting noticeably smaller in recent months as volatile markets deter institutions from investing in new listings. Just a handful of companies are scheduled to join the market in the coming weeks. Perhaps more worrying is the rising number of floats that have failed to get away after making stock market announcements confirming their intention to list.

Project management consultancy Turner & Townsend has postponed its main market float after arguing over its valuation with institutions. It had intended to raise up to £80 million (Shares, 20 Dec ’07).

Titan Vessel, an engineer, has scrapped plans made in November to join Aim after getting a better valuation from private equity investment. It needed £15 million to expand manufacturing capacity and is understood to have raised more than this in Asia without the need to join the stock market.

Asian Palm Oil’s November float failed to materialise after potential investors were put off by the early-stage nature of the business, preferring to invest in palm oil producers with more immediate production plans. It certainly lost out to New Britain Palm Oil (NBPO), which saw its share price rise 69% within two weeks of floating on the main market in December. However, the recent success of its rivals and rising crop prices has prompted Asian Palm Oil to consider another go at joining Aim to capitalise on topical interest in plantations. The £28 million needed to buy land has been raised privately, which should improve its appeal to investors second time around.

Many companies are blaming adverse market conditions, but Kentz’s debut last week shows that there is still demand for companies with quality assets, services, contracts or personnel. Kentz is even understood to have attracted institutional investors that had never put money into Aim before. Yet firms are still finding excuses as to why there have been problems listing.

Research services group Pulse has delayed its Aim IPO for the third time in as many months, saying its broker has advised it not to list until the market stabilises. Supplier of software to the life sciences sector CambridgeSoft managed to raise some money in November but still binned its Aim float, blaming adverse market conditions.

Several Aim listings have simply disappeared off the radar, including Akrion, which makes equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, tyre and inner tube maker Rising Tyre, and Mongolian oil explorer Petro Matad.

Others are finding it is taking longer to complete IPO marketing, including electricity supplier Reuben Power and biofuel specialist MyFuel, which had hoped to raise £15 million to list in December. Natural resources group Stellar Diamonds was meant to have been spun out of Mano River Resources (MANA:AIM) in November but its Aim listing is now scheduled to happen in the spring.

But getting on to the market doesn’t always equate to a successful IPO, as investors in Turf Trax (TTX:AIM) have found out. The horse racing data specialist was forced to issue a stock market announcement last Wednesday to explain why its share price had fallen over 40% to 23.5p in the first week since floating. The company said there wasn’t a reason. Vending machine group SnackTime (SNAK:AIM) has fallen 10% to 131.5p in the six weeks since joining Aim on 19 December, while Kyrgyzstan-based exploration group Chaarat Gold (CGH:AIM) fell 37% to 42.5p in the month after floating in November, and has struggled to regain lost territory since.

The jitters aren’t confined to the UK. Danish state-controlled oil & gas group Dong Energy has seen its planned listing on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange postponed several times because of turmoil in global equity markets. Private equity group Apax last month scrapped the $4 billion float of Tommy Hilfiger, the fashion label, on Euronext for similar reasons. Asia is also vulnerable to the negative sentiment, with Chinese solar power specialist Solargiga, understood to be on the verge of scrapping a major Hong Kong listing.