While the wider market has been having a pretty wretched time, Aim has, if anything, had it worse. The signs were there on 1 July when eight Aim stocks were suspended for being late in publishing their results. But that was only the start of it, with further suspensions, news of administrative receiverships and other troubles coming thick and fast. The index fell from 760.5 to new year lows below 700 points.

When it rains...

July saw five companies fall into the hands of receivers, with plenty of others showing signs of extreme ill-health.

But the month started with those suspensions. One of them, network solutions group Mettoni, has already appointed administrative receivers. Radio investment firm Radio First and US-based Offshore Tool & Energy are both trying to raise funds, while Constellation is seeking a reversal. Film company Equator has just been silent.

i-spire might be bought by a company in which its chairman has an interest, so could compensate shareholders.

Of the remaining two, online travel systems provider Cyberes finally managed to release results showing losses of £1.2 million. The firm was the subject of an underwritten placing and open offer to raise £1.3 million – at a 40 per cent discount to its pre-suspension price.

Sports marketing firm World Sport failed to report despite saying on 19 June that it expected to release figures by the end of the month. Finance director Tony Morgan resigned on that day.

... it pours

A couple of Aim's more high-profile ventures, restaurant firm FISH and construction group Stenoak, have given up the ghost by letting in the receivers. FISH was more obviously in a mess after profit warnings and a strategic review by outsiders. But Stenoak's fall from grace was much more of a surprise. The company had been reporting rising profits and order books at its various businesses.

But Stenoak was mired in debt, something that did not please its suppliers' insurers and led them to withdraw cover on sales. Since then, the construction industry has been enthusiastically picking up the debris.

July was also a time for a few boom-time chickens to come home to roost. Internet services firms Advanced Visual Communications and MobileFuture both decided to throw in the towel and call in receivers. OverNetData is on the verge of going the same way, and saw its shares collapse from 8p to 1.25p. Sports marketing agency Media Content meanwhile admits it is on the edge of bankruptcy after talks that may have seen a reverse takeover fall through. Its shares more than halved to 0.21p. Online auction firm Finelot fell in kind after deciding to close most of its operations.

Underground advertising innovator MotionPoster is also currently in a cash crisis, with Bank of Scotland having decided to withdraw its debt financing arrangements. Furthermore, QuadraNet admits serious problems, and fell 0.5p to 0.06p.

Where the sun still shines...

Amid all this doom and gloom, there have been some bright sparks. GB Railways, the holding company for Anglia Railways and GB Railfreight, surged 71 per cent to 72.5p after a raft of directors piled into the shares following an announcement that it has terminated bid talks. The firm also revealed that it expects to be in profit this year.

Call-centre software firm Netcall has been putting in a sterling performance of late, rising 42 per cent to 8.5p on good feelings about sales prospects for its flagship QueueBuster product. The company still has a market capitalisation of just over £3 million, but is addressing a market that it says is worth over £250 million in the UK alone.

Elsewhere, computer games firm Warthog fell from 32p to 26p, despite announcing a couple of new contracts and pre-tax profits up 55 per cent to £488,000.

Inter Link Foods fell from 430p to 385p even though it increased profits by 84 per cent to £3.3 million.

Solar future

Aim should soon see the admission of London's first listed renewable energy company – in the form of solar cell maker InterSolar. Due to arrive on the market by the end of July, broker Teather & Greenwood is raising £18 million for the company, which is expected to be valued at £40-50 million on admission. Its solar cells, which convert light from the sun's rays into electricity, are integrated into consumer goods like outdoor lights and water features. The group made a loss of £1.7 million on £5.2 million sales last year.