PISCES: What is LSEG’s Private Stock Market?

PISCES is a new private market platform is set to launch in London later this year, marking a major shift in how growth-stage companies sell shares and how investors access private assets. Backed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) will serve as a new, regulated trading venue for shares in private companies.

PISCES aims to bridge the gap between private and public markets by enabling intermittent share auctions for private companies. These auctions will give institutional and sophisticated investors access to previously hard-to-trade private equity, using the same infrastructure as public markets, including LSE’s order book and CREST settlement system. Companies will be able to control how often they trade, what price bands apply, and who is eligible to participate—helping them maintain privacy while accessing capital more flexibly.

The LSE has branded this initiative the “Private Securities Market” (PSM), positioning it as the world’s first regulated crossover market. It is designed to support the UK government’s broader ambition to reinvigorate Britain’s capital markets, especially as an increasing number of companies are choosing to stay private for longer.

“This is about giving minnows the chance to become much bigger fish,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. “PISCES could play a vital role in nurturing high-growth firms by allowing them to scale without the short-term pressure of quarterly reporting seen in public markets.”

Companies participating in PISCES auctions will list shares through “open” or “permissioned” auctions. In open auctions, any eligible investor can participate; in permissioned auctions, companies retain discretion over who can see disclosures and place bids. Share prices will be set through periodic auctions that use volume-maximising algorithms, with companies setting a floor and ceiling price to ensure pricing stability.

To safeguard investor integrity, only institutional investors, sophisticated individuals, and qualifying employees will be allowed to participate. Disclosures will be housed in the new PSM Disclosure Portal and will not be made public, marking a significant departure from traditional listing requirements. The FCA has also introduced a bespoke statutory liability regime tailored for this buyer-beware market.

LSEG expects the first PISCES transactions to take place in late 2025 or early 2026. The government has already exempted these transactions from stamp duty to encourage adoption.

While the platform is initially restricted to professionals, future developments could open the door to broader retail participation. “This may take five years or more,” Streeter noted, “but over time it could significantly level the playing field between retail and institutional investors.”

The launch of PISCES is seen as a bold step to deepen the UK’s investment ecosystem, offering an alternative to private equity secondaries and extending opportunities for companies to raise capital without going public. If successful, it could signal a new era for private markets in the UK—and perhaps globally.