The Irish Stock Exchange launched the Enterprise Securities Market ('ESM') on 12 April 2005. This new market is designed to suit the needs of small to mid-sized companies.
ESM offers small to mid-sized companies a number of advantages:
1. Participation in ESM ensures that smaller Irish companies can benefit from a presence in their home market. A public company’s home market can be particularly important for further fundraising after an IPO and is also more likely to provide broker and analyst support necessary to support share trading.
2. ESM companies may qualify for inclusion in the ISEQ Index, thereby increasing their visibility to institutional and retail investors.
3. The ESM Rules have been designed specifically for smaller companies and are complementary to the AIM admission rules in the UK, thereby allowing Irish companies the option of coordinating admission to both markets using the same timetable and essentially the same admission document.
The main points of difference between the rules for ESM and the Official List are:
| ESM | Official List |
| No specific admission criteria other than the requirement for an applicant to have a minimum market capitalization of €5 million. | Detailed conditions for listing required. |
| No trading record required. | Normally, a 3 year trading record is required. |
| No minimum number of shares to be held in public hands. | Minimum of 25% of shares to be held in public hands. |
| No pre-vetting of ESM admission documents by the ISE. | Pre-vetting of listing particulars by the ISE prior to circulation. |
| In most instances, no prior shareholder approval of substantial acquisitions and disposals. | Prior shareholder approval required for substantial acquisitions and disposals. |
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