PISCES (the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) completed its first live trading events in March 2026 1. JP Jenkins ran a trading window from 18 to 24 March; the London Stock Exchange's Private Securities Market also completed a first event. The Financial Conduct Authority sandbox that governs PISCES runs until 2030.
PISCES allows intermittent trading of shares in private companies, creating a secondary market for pre-IPO startup equity without requiring a public listing. UK startup employees holding options have historically waited seven to ten years for an exit event. Early-stage investors in UK companies face the same illiquidity. Both groups have had strong incentives to push for US listings, where secondary markets and pre-IPO liquidity mechanisms are established.
The sandbox is early. Two operators are approved; trading windows are intermittent, not continuous. Volume and price discovery will determine whether PISCES becomes a functioning market or remains a regulatory experiment. If it works, it could reduce the pressure for UK high-growth companies to list in New York simply to provide their investors and employees with liquidity.