On 10 June 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its much-anticipated final rules for a new type of trading venue: the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System — better known as PISCES.
This regulatory milestone marks a significant development for UK private markets. By enabling structured, time-bound trading events for private company shares, PISCES offers a novel route to liquidity — one that preserves the benefits of remaining unlisted while providing shareholders with optionality.
But perhaps more importantly, the launch of PISCES arrives at a moment when secondary markets for private assets are gaining new prominence. With exit timelines lengthening, valuations rebalancing, and investors increasingly seeking flexibility, secondaries are evolving from a niche mechanism to a core component of private capital markets.
What is PISCES?
Under the new regime (PS25/6), companies will be able to host intermittent trading windows for their shares, enabling buy and sell orders to match without the need for a continuous market.
Key features include:
- Customised trading schedules: Issuers choose when and how often to open their shares to secondary trading.
- Participant eligibility criteria: Including potential limitations to certain types of investors.
- Price controls and disclosure obligations: Tailored to reflect private-market standards.
The initiative forms part of HM Treasury and the FCA’s broader “private-plus” strategy, aimed at increasing access to high-growth companies while maintaining investor safeguards.
Why does this matter for secondaries?
While traditional IPO markets remain subdued, the demand for secondary liquidity continues to rise — from founders, early-stage investors, and even employees holding equity. Yet, the infrastructure to support these transactions has often lagged behind demand.
PISCES represents a targeted solution:
- For companies, it offers a transparent and controlled environment to facilitate shareholder exits or bring in new investors.
- For investors, it provides a regulated route to access high-growth businesses previously available only through direct VC or private equity channels.
Combined with technological innovation and increased institutional appetite, we believe this could help fuel a new phase in the evolution of the secondaries ecosystem — one that’s more accessible, more standardised, and better integrated into the broader capital markets landscape.
How Cosegic can help
The introduction of PISCES is not a silver bullet — it won’t suit every private company or investor. But it does signal a shift: from treating secondaries as a workaround, to embedding them as a central feature of the UK’s capital markets architecture – by the Regulator of all people.
At Cosegic, we continue to monitor developments in the secondaries landscape and are supporting clients exploring the strategic regulatory implications of these changes. If your firm is considering participation in intermittent markets or navigating regulatory structuring questions around secondary activity, our team is here to help.
Contact us to learn more about how we can support your regulatory strategy or secondary market engagement.
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