PISCES: platforms for trading private company shares

PISCES intermittent trading events are:

• occasional
• not frequent
• for a limited time

Operators running each PISCES platform will decide when trading events take place and how long they last for.

Companies can choose platforms that offer trading events that suits their needs. 

Companies on PISCES platforms can restrict who can buy their shares, if these restrictions promote or protect their legitimate commercial interests.  

However, companies may not impose any new restrictions on which investors may sell their shares.  

Investors may include:

• Sophisticated investors (including self-certified).
• High-net worth individuals.
• Institutional investors.

Read our rules

Employees trading company shares on PISCES

Under the Treasury’s PISCES sandbox regulations, employees of companies with shares traded on PISCES platforms can either:

• Buy shares in the company that employs them  
• Sell their existing shares.  

Read the Treasury’s regulations

However, companies on PISCES platforms may choose to:

• Impose extra restrictions on who can buy their shares on PISCES.
• Restrict employees from selling their shares on PISCES if they are already subject to contractual obligations restricting the sale of shares held.   

For its shares to be traded on PISCES, a company must not have admitted those shares for trading on either:

• A trading venue (as defined by FSMA 2000).
• A multilateral system outside the UK.

Companies using a PISCES platform must provide:

• Core disclosures: a minimum set of information.
• Additional disclosures: extra information required under the PISCES operator’s rules.

Individual PISCES operators may also set their own criteria for which companies can use their platform.

Companies based outside the UK

Companies based in any location can use PISCES to trade their shares. Consider local laws and regulations that apply to your jurisdiction.

Financial intermediaries connect investors to PISCES trading platforms by:

• Placing their buy or sell orders.
• Promoting PISCES shares.  

Intermediaries are responsible for making sure that :

• Retail investors have the proper protections under our rules.
• Communications and marketing about a PISCES share (not falling within the scope of a Financial Promotions Order exemption) comply with our financial promotion rules.

As part of this, intermediaries should:

• Communicate a personalised risk warning.
• Establish that a retail investor is eligible to invest.
• Assess that the investment in a PISCES share is appropriate for the investor.