The UK's techMark, the technology segment of the London Stock Exchange, will be celebrating its first birthday next month, and its devotees are already hailing it as a success.

The plucky newcomer may not rank alongside Nasdaq, the technology-heavy US stock market, or Frankfurt's high-growth Neuer Markt, in its ability to draw in the heavyweight international issuers, but is rolling up its sleeves in preparation for a ferocious competition.