The London Stock Exchange is to make a dramatic effort to attract smaller continental European companies to its Alternative Investment Market, its junior section, in an attempt to head-off rival Euronext.

In June, Euronext announced its intention to create a junior market called Alternext at the start of next year but then rescheduled for the first half of 2005. The move was inspired by the success of AIM, which is to list its 1,000th company today.