The London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG.L) upcoming private securities market, powered by the Pisces framework, will be a transformative innovation that will open up liquidity in the private capital space, according to CEO David Schwimmer.
The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (Pisces), proposed by the previous Conservative government and backed by Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves, will allow investors in private companies to sell shares on regulated exchanges.
The London Stock Exchange Group is one of the companies planning to operate a Pisces trading venue, where shares could be traded on a limited number of days each year.
“I think it’s a good innovation,” Schwimmer told Yahoo Finance UK, signalling his optimism about the platform’s potential impact on both private companies and institutional players.
The LSEG CEO explained how the platform would enable private companies to access public market infrastructure without going public.
Read more: What you need to know about UK’s private stock market Pisces
“The private securities market that we are launching this year, which is on the Pisces framework, is a really interesting innovation for this market,” Schwimmer said, adding that there has been a growing demand for liquidity among private companies.
While many private companies today remain closed off to public investors, Schwimmer said that the market for private equity is expanding rapidly.
“You have a lot of companies now that are sizeable and maybe looking for liquidity but do not want to go public”, he explained. These companies may seek liquidity for their limited partners (LPs), shareholders, or employees, without leaping to a complete public listing.
For Schwimmer, the Pisces platform solves this dilemma, offering access to the same infrastructure and liquidity typically reserved for publicly traded firms, filling a critical gap in the market.
According to Schwimmer, one of the key advantages of the Pisces framework is that it can serve as a conduit for institutional investors, who in the past have had limited access to private companies.
“Historically, institutional investors have not had a lot of access to private companies unless they get to participate in an opaque kind of one-off private placement process,” he said, pointing to the exclusivity of most private equity transactions. By leveraging the structure of the London Stock Exchange, Pisces should give institutional investors more transparency and access to the growing pool of private market assets.
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Schwimmer also suggested that the Pisces framework could reshape how liquidity is accessed and managed in the private market. “This can be a great way for [private companies] to access effectively public market infrastructure on the London Stock Exchange,” he said. Through Pisces, these companies would gain access to the trading systems and liquidity that are typically the domain of publicly listed firms.
London’s new Pisces private company stock market will launch later this year.
Pisces is intended to serve as both a showcase and an exchange for private companies seeking capital. Entrepreneurs will be able to organise scheduled trading events where they can offer existing shares to new investors, at prices they determine. Only pre-existing equity will be traded; the issuance of new shares will not be permitted on the platform.
Firms wanting to operate a Pisces venue must first apply for authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Once approved, they can host intermittent auctions that enable founders, early employees, or existing shareholders to realise some value without relinquishing control through a full-scale initial public offering.
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Company owners will retain the right to screen prospective investors under current proposals. This power would allow them to block rivals from acquiring stakes or to prevent any single investor from amassing an outsized influence on the shareholder register.
Pisces could offer a lower-cost and more flexible alternative to public markets for fast-growing businesses. Unlike IPOs, which require extensive regulatory disclosure and the production of detailed prospectuses, companies listing on Pisces would face a significantly lighter disclosure burden.
Supporters of the scheme argue that Pisces could enhance liquidity in private markets by enabling regular share auctions, helping attract a broader base of long-term investors to companies that might otherwise be overlooked. The platform is also expected to provide a cheaper route to equity liquidity than engaging investment banks to manage private placements.
Adding to its appeal, the UK Treasury has pledged to exempt trades executed on Pisces from stamp duty, the 0.5% tax levied on share purchases on public exchanges. The exemption aims to improve liquidity and make UK equity markets more competitive globally.
The Pisces proposals come amid broader efforts by the government and regulators to revitalise the UK’s capital markets and encourage greater economic investment.
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