PISCES, a new kind of private stock market from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), now has its first approved operator. Read on to find out how PISCES gives growing businesses more opportunities to find investors, and how BKL can help you to navigate this groundbreaking framework.
What is PISCES?
The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) is a regulatory framework designed to modernise UK capital markets. It allows shareholders in private companies to trade shares via authorised platforms during scheduled trading windows, bridging the gap between private ownership and public markets.
The key features of PISCES are:
- Controlled secondary trading windows
- Liquidity access for founders, employees, and early investors
- No requirement for IPO or continuous disclosure
- Operating as a regulatory sandbox until at least June 2030
Market milestone: LSE leads the way
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the first operator to receive a PISCES Approval Notice from the FCA for its Private Securities Market (PSM). This new secondary market enables private companies to access intermittent liquidity auctions, making use of the LSE’s robust public market infrastructure.
Implications for lower mid-market M&A
PISCES introduces a compelling alternative to traditional M&A-driven exits:
- Enables partial liquidity with or without full company sale
- Facilitates transactions with institutional investors
- Establishes market-based valuations, narrowing buyer-seller gaps
- Enhances comparable data for deal structuring
- Offers stamp duty exemption on share transfers
Outlook: a blueprint for global private equity trading?
Whether PISCES can achieve its dual aim of increasing liquidity in the private market and re-establishing the UK as a destination for high-growth companies remains to be seen. Much will depend on uptake by both platforms and issuers, as well as the FCA’s ability to maintain market integrity within a looser regulatory framework.
Now that the first operator of a PISCES platform has been approved, we eagerly await the final form of the PSM rulebook to see how many companies and shareholders will be eligible to participate.
The next five years will serve as a critical testing period for this novel market structure. If it strikes the right balance between flexibility and investor protection, PISCES may well become a blueprint for the future of secondary private equity trading in the UK and beyond.
How BKL can help
With our expertise in commercial finance, regulatory compliance and business growth, we can help you prepare for PISCES:
- Governance & compliance: ensuring your company meets disclosure and regulatory standards required for PISCES platforms
- Financial modelling & strategy: helping you present your business in a way that attracts investors and supports liquidity
- Deal readiness: PISCES can be a stepping stone to an IPO. Our significant experience gives you the assurance that you will have the senior finance support necessary to guide you throughout the process: before, during and beyond
- Fractional CFO services: experienced financial leadership on a flexible basis to guide your business through complex transitions
- Shareholder management: assisting in rationalising and broadening your shareholder base
Our corporate finance specialists partner with entrepreneurs and management teams to deliver successful mergers, acquisitions, and strategic transactions across a wide range of industries.
We provide end-to-end lead advisory and transaction support, guiding you through every stage of the business lifecycle: from M&A strategy and financial due diligence to valuations, structuring, and exit planning.
Working closely with BKL’s experts in transaction tax, commercial finance and governance, we offer integrated, hands-on support: ensuring your deal is efficient and maximises value.
If you’re a growing, complex business in a period of major change, we can provide fractional finance, accounting, and corporate governance change through CFPro, our specialist consultancy division.
Whether you’re exploring PISCES as a liquidity solution or preparing for a future transaction, get in touch with Daniel Shear or Jethro Barnsley from our corporate finance team today, or send us an enquiry.
