The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has become the first British company authorized to operate a new platform that allows investors to trade shares of private companies, according to an announcement made last week by the UK financial watchdog, according to Reuters.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that the approval of the LSE as an operator of a Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) platform marked an “important milestone” in the effort to stimulate growth and unlock capital markets.
Britain last year drafted rules to allow private companies to trade on regulated exchanges, hoping to stem delistings and exits from the UK capital markets and give private firms a faster route to new investors.
The LSE plans to launch the private securities market later this year. The PISCES model will initially be implemented through a “sandbox” that allows the FCA to test it before finalizing a permanent regime for it in 2030.
It is worth noting that other markets offer similar regulated platforms. Rival Nasdaq, which is opening a new section in New York, has long had a private market segment. PISCES could help small companies with limited capital markets experience get on the radar of investors with significant liquidity and supporters of the exchange, without a large-scale initial public offering. But the concept has proven difficult to accept, with some market participants concerned that it could “cannibalize” companies that would otherwise seek to list on the stock exchange. Some bankers quoted by Reuters earlier this year fear a decline in revenues and, ultimately, being sidelined in a booming market for private equity.
Simon Walls, the FCA’s chief executive for markets, said the approval of the UK’s first PISCES operator was the start of a competitive market that gave investors greater access to growth companies.
“This new market demonstrates our commitment to creating a model for genuine funding to move from private to public markets so that businesses in the UK and around the world can be supported effectively at all stages of their growth,” said Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the LSE.
• LSEG – revenues up 6.4%, net profit up 88%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) reported in early August revenues of £4.67 billion for the period January to June 2025, up 6.4% on the first half of 2024, according to Simply Wall Street. Net profit was £649m, up 88%, and the profit margin rose to 14% from 7.9%.
Looking ahead, LSEG’s revenues are forecast to grow by an average of 5.8% per year over the next three years, compared with a forecast growth of 1.8% for the UK capital markets industry.