The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has become the first organisation approved to run a Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System, a new private share-trading venue known as Pisces.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed on Tuesday that it had granted the exchange an approval notice, allowing it to host intermittent trading events for shares in large private companies later this year. The platform is designed to widen investor access to growth businesses that do not wish to pursue an immediate public listing while offering them a potential pathway to the main market.

Simon Walls, the FCA’s executive director of markets, said the authorisation “marks a major milestone in our drive to boost growth and unlock capital investment”.

Pisces will operate within the regulator’s financial markets infrastructure sandbox, enabling the FCA to test the model before proposing a permanent regime by 2030. Trading is expected to take the form of periodic auctions or limited windows of continuous dealing.

Julia Hoggett, LSE chief executive officer, called the decision “a significant step towards the launch of our Private Securities Market later this year”.. She added that the initiative “demonstrates our commitment to the creation of a genuine funding continuum from the private to public markets so that businesses in the UK and around the world can be effectively supported across all stages of their growth”.

Economic secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the approval, saying she looked forward to “the first Pisces trading events”.

British policymakers hope the scheme will help reverse a steady flow of company departures from London’s main exchange and attract high-profile start-ups that might otherwise list overseas or remain private indefinitely. Market participants see the platform as a potential rival to Nasdaq’s long-established private market in the United States, though some advisers have expressed concern that it could divert firms that might otherwise proceed to an initial public offering.

The FCA stated that other venues may now apply for approval, paving the way for a competitive market in private share trading. The Treasury laid the necessary statutory instrument in May, and the watchdog has published guidance for prospective operators.

Revolut, Octopus Energy and Oaknorth are among companies reported to have expressed preliminary interest in joining the platform, according to City AM.

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