The UK is on the brink of delivering a fundamentally new approach for private companies to access capital markets. This summer, the government will introduce the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES), a ground-breaking framework for buying and selling private company shares.

In an era when many businesses are staying private for longer, private companies will be able to regularly auction their shares, providing an opportunity for shareholders and employees to trade them. For their part, investors will have the opportunity to invest in high-growth private companies that are not usually available until they are publicly listed.

At the London Stock Exchange, we plan to launch the Private Securities Market later in the year and become a PISCES market operator. This new market will be the world’s first regulated crossover market – a hybrid – providing private companies with periodic liquidity whilst leveraging our public market-grade infrastructure. 

Laying the foundations

So, what steps have been taken to get here? The UK government and regulators have been developing the PISCES regulations in collaboration with participants across the market since 2021. Recognising the critical contribution this market can make to innovation and growth, the government announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget that PISCES transactions will be exempt from stamp duty, reducing the cost and simplifying transactions for investors.

Just weeks later, during her inaugural Mansion House speech in November 2024, the Chancellor pledged to introduce legislation for the regime by May 2025. This announcement marked the launch of the HM Treasury consultation, followed by the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation, both of which closed in the first quarter of 2025.

The countdown to PISCES has begun. HM Treasury will put its final statutory instrument before Parliament in May, which will give the FCA powers to implement and oversee the operation of the PISCES sandbox, that’s expected to run for five years.

These innovative ‘sandbox’ powers allow the government and regulators to more nimbly adapt and introduce new legislation. The regulatory framework established to facilitate PISCES will be reviewed over the initial five-year period, ensuring that it continues to evolve to meet the requirements of private companies and their investors. 

Transforming private capital liquidity

We are excited about the new opportunities that will be created by our new Private Securities Market. It’s set to be a gamechanger, providing private companies with access to liquidity windows and attracting a broader set of investors. At launch, PISCES will only be open to professional and sophisticated investors. 

The PISCES framework allows private companies to take advantage of the London Stock Exchange’s capital markets infrastructure in ways that have not been available before. Companies will be able to give investors access to buy and sell their shares using the intermittent auction facilities of the Exchange. They will also have control over the frequency of auction windows and be able to choose whether to open them to all eligible investors or restrict them to a more limited group. In this way, a private company can evolve its shareholder ownership, deciding who gets access to its company disclosures, who gets to trade, and the range within which price-formation can occur. The same technology that underpins the Exchange’s public markets will be used to quickly and efficiently match buyers with sellers and settle transactions.

But it’s not just businesses that are turning to private markets. Investors want to directly access the next generation of high-growth private companies too. The Private Securities Market will deliver that opportunity, while harnessing the auction process and fostering disclosure to improve confidence in transacting in private markets.

A new era for UK capital markets

From the perspective of the UK’s capital markets, this is the most notable development since the introduction of AIM in 1995. It’s designed to foster an ecosystem to support companies as they start, grow and scale.

The direction of travel in capital markets is clear – towards a more seamless relationship between public and private markets, and an improvement in the latter’s liquidity. After four years of planning and preparation, PISCES and our new Private Securities Market will soon go live, transforming private capital liquidity provision in the UK.

How you can get involved

The Private Securities Market is launching later this year. If you’re interested in hearing more – or you think that you might want to auction a private company’s shares or invest through our new market.