London Stock Exchange
UK primary securities exchange; hosted inaugural PISCES pre-IPO trading window.
Last refreshed: 13 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is the London Stock Exchange losing its grip on UK tech company listings?
Timeline for London Stock Exchange
Completed first PISCES trading event via its Private Securities Market
UK Startups and Innovation: PISCES runs first pre-IPO trading events- What is PISCES and why does the London Stock Exchange want it?
- PISCES is a new UK regime for pre-IPO trading. The LSE hosted the first session and backs the concept as a way to keep high-growth companies within the UK capital markets ecosystem before they list.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
- Why are UK tech companies listing in New York instead of London?
- Companies cite deeper US investor pools, higher valuations, and lighter ongoing disclosure burdens. The LSE and UK Government are attempting reforms including PISCES to address this.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
- Does the London Stock Exchange own Refinitiv?
- Yes. LSEG acquired Refinitiv in 2021 for approximately $27bn, making it a Major financial data business alongside its exchange operations.Source: uk-startups-and-innovation
Background
The London Stock Exchange ran the first live trading window under the PISCES regime in April 2025, marking a significant milestone in the UK governments plan to create a new intermittent trading venue for pre-IPO company shares. PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) allows private companies to offer liquidity to their shareholders without the full disclosure obligations of a listed company. The LSE hosted the inaugural session alongside broker JP Jenkins, validating the government-backed pilot after months of regulatory design work.
The London Stock Exchange Group, listed on the LSE itself, is one of the worlds oldest securities exchanges, tracing its origins to 1801. It operates primary and secondary markets for equities, bonds, and derivatives, and through its acquisition of Refinitiv in 2021 became one of the largest financial data businesses globally. The group now derives more revenue from data and analytics than from exchange trading.
For the UK startup ecosystem, the LSEs participation in PISCES is significant beyond the symbolic. As Britains main public equities venue, its endorsement of the pre-IPO liquidity concept signals that the exchange sees PISCES as complementary to, rather than competing with, its IPO pipeline. Critics of the LSE have argued for years that the exchange has lost ground to New York as a destination for high-growth company listings; a thriving PISCES market could serve as a funnel that keeps more UK technology companies anchored in the British capital markets system.