Consultation outcome

Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES): Consultation

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES): Consultation response

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Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox) Regulations 2025: Policy note

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Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox) Regulations 2025

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Detail of outcome

PISCES (the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) is a new type of stock market for private company shares. It forms a key part of the Government’s strategy to reinvigorate capital markets through pro-innovation and pro-growth policies.

This consultation response summarises the feedback to the consultation, and sets out how the government intends to design the regulatory framework for PISCES in light of the views received.

The draft legislation to establish PISCES, as well as a policy note that provides commentary to aid the reader in reviewing the draft legislation, have also been published. The legislation will establish the PISCES sandbox and, alongside FCA rules, will set the regulatory requirements for PISCES.

Feedback on this draft legislation should be sent to PISCES@hmtreasury.gov.uk by 9 January 2025.


Original consultation

Summary

This consultation sets out the government’s proposal for a new innovative market that will allow private companies to scale and grow, and will boost the pipeline of future IPOs in the UK.

This consultation ran from
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Consultation description

This consultation sets out the government’s proposal for a new platform that will allow private companies to trade their securities in a controlled environment and on an intermittent basis. The new Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) incorporates elements from public markets, such as those that offer multilateral trading, and elements from private markets that provide greater discretion on what company disclosures should be made public. 

Participating on PISCES will support companies to scale up and grow, providing liquidity, helping shareholders, including employee shareholders, to realise their gains, and providing an opportunity to companies to rationalise their shareholder base. Investors will gain better access to exciting companies while also benefiting from greater transparency and efficiency than available in private markets.

This proposal will support the pipeline for future initial public offerings (IPOs) in the UK, by improving the interface between private companies and UK public markets, and complementing the government’s wide ranging and ongoing reforms to boost the UK as a listing destination.

PISCES will be developed using a financial market infrastructure (FMI) sandbox.

The consultation sets out the proposed design of the regulatory regime for PISCES and invites feedback. This proposal will be of interest to expected participants in PISCES such as potential companies, investors, and market operators; as well as regulated intermediaries (brokers, investment banks etc), professional service firms and trade associations.

Responses to this consultation should be sent to PISCES@hmtreasury.gov.uk by 17 April 2024.

Documents

Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES): Consultation

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Updates to this page

Published 6 March 2024
Last updated 14 November 2024 + show all updates
  1. Updated with consultation response, draft legislation and policy note.

  2. First published.

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