PISCES – The new private stock exchange. Will it sink or swim?
PISCES – The new private stock exchange.
Will it sink or swim?
For most people the term ‘PISCES’ is most recognisable as the Zodiac sign but it is also the acronym for a new type of private stock market being launched in the UK. PISCES stands for Private Intermittent Security and Capital Exchange System and it is a new FCA regulated trading platform where operators will be able to buy and sell private company shares.
With many companies choosing to stay private for longer, the platform aims to increase the liquidity of shares in participating companies through periodic trading windows. This will enable investors to access growth companies that may be heading towards an initial public offering (IPO) and for early shareholders, including employees, to realise their investments.
Why has PISCES been developed?
PISCES forms part of the FCA’s 5-year strategic plan to 2030 to support sustained economic growth, by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK’s world-leading financial services sector. It looks to unlock capital within private companies that can be reinvested or utilised in the domestic economy for other purchases such as capital goods. At the same time, new investors may be better placed to support a company’s future growth plans than its existing shareholders.
The first operator of PISCES is announced
Interestingly, the first approved operator by the FCA is the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The approval was granted on the 26th August so it occurred just this week. The first live trading is expected to take place in Q4 2025. Why is this interesting? Well, it could be presumed that the LSE would only be interested in working with public companies rather than private ones given its heritage as a public stock exchange. However, we would highlight that the LSE is arguably as much a technology company these days given trading is now digital. This means it is likely to have a significant level of synergistic technology and expertise that could be applied to private company share trading. Whilst we expect PISCES trading volumes are likely to be minimal relative to public share trading volumes for some time to come, it does provide the LSE with a hedge of sorts to the longer-term trends of fewer companies opting to be publicly listed.
Do similar platforms exist?
The private market ecosystem is quite opaque and to some extent, deliberately so, as the attraction of being a private company is being able to keep commercial information private with limited disclosure requirements. However, there are a number of businesses in the UK that currently provide secondary share sale services such as JP Jenkins and Asset Match. Internationally, there is also Nasdaq Private Market, a US company. The key difference we see with PISCES is that it will be a regulated trading platform. Furthermore, we note JP Jenkins has applied to be a PISCES operator, so it looks like PISCES won’t necessarily compete with market incumbents. Time will tell whether the addition of regulation requirements is a benefit or headwind to trading activity.
How will PISCES work?
PISCES is a digital trading platform that can be operated by an intermediary such as the LSE or JP Jenkins. When a company is admitted to a PISCES platform, it will provide shareholders the opportunity to buy and sell shares during pre-defined trading windows. The company will be required to publish information ahead of each window and this will be based on the ‘core information’ requirements of the FCA regulations. This would include a business overview, a management structure overview, financial information and information on the capital structure, for example, as well as managing equal access to information. A key positive is a full prospectus is not required.
Who can participate
Companies that are UK-incorporated or overseas will be eligible for PISCES as long as they are not listed on a public market in the UK or abroad. Therefore, eligibility for PISCES is very broad and can include early-stage companies and more mature businesses. From an investor perspective, institutional and professional investors will be eligible to buy shares. It will not be open to retail investors generally, although, sophisticated and high-net-worth retail investors will be eligible. For a particular company, the employees, directors and officers of that company will also be eligible to purchase its shares.
An important aspect for the companies that want to use the PISCES platform is that the rules allow participant companies to impose restrictions on who can buy their shares.
What are the benefits?
The benefits for existing shareholders start with the ability to sell their shares within a regulated environment providing liquidity i.e. cash for their investment. Historically they would have likely required a sale of the business or an IPO to get the benefit of their share ownership. We note there are also tax advantages too in that share sales are exempt from stamp duty and the tax advantages on company employee share schemes (such as Enterprise Management Incentives & Company Share Option Plans) will be retained. For investors, they can access a broad range of companies again through a regulated environment and also on a stamp duty exempt basis.
For companies, they can provide liquidity for their shareholders whilst maintaining privacy. The ability to control who is investing is also important and the platform could help with finding investors that are more able to support company growth ambitions, although any new capital would have to be raised outside PISCES. We don’t see this as an issue and it is where PISCES will complement existing funding avenues such as crowdfunding and angel networks.
Are there limitations?
As mentioned earlier, PISCES is only for secondary share transactions so does not enable new money to be raised, albeit the provision of liquidity could make a prospective company more attractive to an investor looking to invest new capital. Share buybacks are also not allowed at this point although we believe that this is an FCA consideration going forward based on the consultation it carried out.
Summary view
On balance, we see the launch of PISCES as a positive for the market as it should theoretically improve capital efficiency. For earlier stage companies in particular, helping the earlier investors realise their investments where future support for the company in terms of additional funding might be limited and be replaced by new more supportive investors is a good thing.
However, the two key unknowns for us are; How easy will it be to find the buyers for the shares? This then leads into how much of an impact will PISCES have? Only time will tell but our sincere hope is that it does prove to be a success as it could be an additional small incremental improvement to helping drive growth for UK Plc.
Phil Carroll
Head of Alternatives
*Any feedback provided can be anonymous
Important Information
All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of Artorius at 29th August 2025 and are subject to change, without notice. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing report is accurate or complete; we do not accept any liability for any errors or omissions, nor for any actions taken based on its content. The value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up. The return at the end of the investment period is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Nothing in this document is intended to be, or should be construed as, regulated advice. Artorius provides this document in good faith and for information purposes only. Reliance should not be placed on the information contained within this document when taking individual investments or strategic decisions.
Artorius Wealth Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Artorius is a trading name of Artorius Wealth Management Limited.
FP20250828001