In “Sceptics lambast plan for private share trading” (Report, February 27), you highlight venture capital and private equity’s dim view of the government’s planned Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (Pisces).
The basis of the dismissal is unfair. It assumes that Pisces transactions will run similarly to public markets, with price discovery and open access for investors. But Pisces’ model is a world apart from public markets. The bulk of Pisces transactions will be private, issuer-led transactions where the terms are set and the audience of potential investors is controlled by the issuer.
As for the question of demand, private secondary share sales have grown exponentially, hitting $160bn in 2024. At the same time, the London Stock Exchange has experienced record outflows and delistings. This is because “secondaries” offer firms an easier, quicker route to huge amounts of liquidity than public listings and open up access to new opportunities in high-growth businesses to investors.
This secondaries boom is at the heart of the tectonic shift we’re witnessing from public to private capital markets. The fact that LSE Group is so heavily involved in Pisces is proof in itself of this shift. The US is ahead on this front, with Nasdaq Private Market and Forge leading the charge under the alternative trading system framework, which has been in place for decades. Pisces will be the catalyst for the UK to similarly reap the rewards of this booming market.
With public companies representing just 0.1 per cent of investable assets, and technology making private markets ever more accessible, this is exactly what the UK government should be focusing on.
The only criticism that can be levelled at the government is that Pisces will not boost the IPO pipeline. Mark Austin of Latham and Watkins, and independent chair of the UK review of secondary capital raising, said: “The expense and time of preparing for an IPO and relying on good market conditions is still a factor.”
Instead, Pisces will position the private sector as a direct competitor to public markets. If done right, it will catalyse the UK private markets ecosystem and unlock more capital to power investment and growth.
As for arguments Pisces is another incarnation of Aim — it’s not. It will be the death of Aim.
Myles Milston
CEO and Co-Founder, Globacap
London WC2, UK
