UK's Private Market Revolution: LSE Launches First Share Auction

LONDON, UK – February 23, 2026 – A new chapter in UK finance began today as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hosted the first-ever auction on its Private Securities Market (PSM). This landmark event, powered by fintech giant Equiniti, marks the operational debut of the UK’s ambitious Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES), a framework designed to fundamentally alter how private companies access capital and provide liquidity.

The inaugural auction signifies a major strategic move by the UK to enhance its appeal as a global financial hub and solve a persistent problem for its burgeoning tech and science sectors: the 'liquidity trap.' For years, founders, employees, and early investors in successful private companies have often seen their wealth locked up on paper, with the costly and complex Initial Public Offering (IPO) being the only major path to realizing value. The PSM aims to create a new, regulated 'third way' between the private and public realms.

A New Framework for Growth: PISCES in Practice

The PISCES framework, developed by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is the regulatory engine driving this change. It allows private companies to facilitate the trading of existing shares through structured, intermittent auctions on a regulated platform. This is not continuous trading like a public market; instead, companies can schedule periodic 'liquidity windows'—be it quarterly, annually, or ad hoc—giving them control while offering shareholders predictable opportunities to sell.

Operating initially within the UK's five-year Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) Sandbox, the system is designed to be tested and refined. It features a bespoke disclosure regime that is less onerous than full public listing requirements but still provides institutional-grade information to participants. Crucially, access is restricted to professional, sophisticated, and high-net-worth investors, alongside employees of the participating company, creating a 'buyer beware' environment built for those who understand the associated risks. Trades conducted on PISCES platforms will also benefit from an exemption from stamp duty, a significant incentive to encourage participation.

This initiative is a cornerstone of the UK's post-Brexit strategy to 'regulate for growth.' By creating a flexible yet robust market, policymakers hope to encourage high-growth companies to scale up within the UK, providing them with the tools to attract and retain top talent by making employee stock options more tangibly valuable. It bridges a critical gap, offering a stepping stone for companies that are mature but not yet ready for the full glare of public markets.

The Inaugural Auction: A Model for the Future

The first transaction on the PSM provides a clear blueprint for how this new ecosystem will function. The structure involves the Tradable Private Equity Investment Company (TPEIC), a new type of investment vehicle designed specifically for the PISCES framework. TPEIC holds shares in a single, high-profile private company—in this case, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE)—and it is TPEIC's shares that are being traded on the PSM.

This innovative structure allows investors to gain exposure to OSE without OSE itself having to list. Oxford Science Enterprises is a prime example of the companies the PSM hopes to serve. A deep-tech investment powerhouse spun out from the University of Oxford in 2015, OSE has backed over 80 companies in fields like AI, quantum computing, and life sciences, raising over £850 million itself. The TPEIC model provides a governed, transparent way for institutional investors to access the value being created in such world-leading innovation hubs.

As TPEIC's founder, Fred Bouverat, noted, turning this concept into a reality required immense operational expertise. This is where Equiniti’s role became indispensable.

Equiniti: The Operational Backbone of a New Market

While the LSE provides the market infrastructure and TPEIC the investment vehicle, Equiniti has served as the critical operational architect, ensuring the complex mechanics of the auction run smoothly. The company, a long-standing pillar of the UK's financial infrastructure responsible for managing millions of shareholder accounts, has been tasked with building the regulated 'highway' for this new class of trading.

“The first PSM auction is a landmark moment that fundamentally changes the physics of private ownership in the UK,” said Jo Palmer, CEO of Investment Services at Equiniti. “For decades, Equiniti has served as the trusted backbone of the UK’s financial infrastructure, and we are now applying that storied legacy to solve the ‘liquidity trap’ for a new generation of high-growth companies.”

Equiniti’s role extends from technical readiness to navigating the intricate settlement and registry mechanics required to ensure trades are executed with the same precision expected of public markets. Their involvement provides the institutional-grade trust necessary for investors to participate with confidence. Fred Bouverat of TPE praised Equiniti's contribution, stating, “Their technical expertise, operational precision and ability to navigate complex settlement and registry mechanics have been critical to transforming an innovative concept into a fully executable structure... They are not just a service provider — they are a key enabler.”

Reshaping the Path from Startup to Scale-Up

The launch of the PSM is more than a technical achievement; it represents a potential paradigm shift for the UK's entire growth ecosystem. For founders, it offers a way to provide returns to early backers and reward loyal employees without ceding control or diverting focus to a premature IPO. For venture capitalists and angel investors, it introduces a new, intermediate exit path, potentially freeing up capital to be reinvested into the next generation of startups.

For employees at fast-growing private firms, the market could transform stock options from a long-term, uncertain promise into a more tangible asset. The ability to periodically sell a portion of their vested shares can be a life-changing event, making scale-ups a more attractive place to build a career.

As the PSM moves from a single auction to a fully-fledged marketplace, its success will depend on attracting a steady pipeline of high-quality companies and building a deep pool of investor liquidity. With this first successful auction, the UK has fired the starting gun on a bold experiment to redefine private capital for the 21st century.