The London Stock Exchange Group is opening its private market bourse to retail investors through equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
Eligible investors will be able to access LSEG’s Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System, or Pisces, a platform for trading shares in private companies.
Investments will primarily target later-stage, high-growth companies, and will be made on the same terms as institutional investors.
According to Crowdcube’s website, any UK resident over 18 who is legally entitled to invest can open an account to invest in European companies for as little as £10 (about $13.42). Some examples of companies available for investment include UK digital savings and investment platform Chip and clothing company Shackleton.
“This partnership is a unique opportunity to enable private companies and investors to utilize the same infrastructure and technology that underpins the London Stock Exchange’s public markets,” Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO at LSEG, said.
LSEG was the first company to secure regulatory approval to operate a Pisces platform, which will be launched later this year.
Pisces will initially be released as a sandbox version to test the design, with a final version scheduled for 2030. The Pisces concept was first floated in 2022 and later outlined in the previous Conservative government’s 2024 budget.
It is part of the UK government’s broader effort to keep private companies on home ground. In July, following a major overhaul of listing rules last year, the government announced a new listings task force to encourage more companies to go public on the LSE.
Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange, with Crowdcube’s co-CEO Matt Cooper
Featured image courtesy of Crowdcube
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