Revolut, Octopus and Oaknorth are considering participation in the forthcoming Pisces private stock market, with encouragement from its prospective operator, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), as reported by City AM.
City AM has uncovered that these billion-pound firms were amongst approximately two dozen prominent businesses attending an invitation-only meeting led by LSE chief Julia Hoggett, focusing on the opportunity offered by Pisces.
The guest list for the conference included Atom Bank, fintech outfit Thought Machine, and Oxford Science Enterprises, a venture capital concern. Also present were Multiverse, Euan Blair’s billion-pound edtech venture, and Iwoca, which recently amassed £270 million in debt funds from Citi and Barclays.
Iwoca’s spokesperson expressed cautious optimism stating: “It’s early days, but the direction of travel is encouraging,” and went on to commend the collective efforts by saying: “It’s great to see the government, the FCA and the LSE coming together with such a coordinated approach.”
While Revolut and the LSEG chose not to comment, and communication requests went unanswered by Octopus, OakNorth refrained from statement. However, their CEO Rishi Khosla had previously conveyed to City AM his approval of the Pisces project saying: “Get it out, start testing it, start building liquidity.”
Pisces trading to commence soon
In preparation for the launch later this year, the UK’s financial regulator published the framework’s rulebook for Pisces in June.
A new private share-trading platform has been launched, aiming to fill a long-standing funding gap for growth businesses and early-stage investors. The platform, Pisces, provides a stepping stone for companies planning a future IPO.
Dr. David Ramm, a partner at law firm Crowell & Moring, said: “Pisces has clearly tapped into a frustration felt across the tech sector; the UK’s public markets aren’t working for growth-stage companies. The fact that firms like Revolut, Atom Bank, and Multiverse showed up tells us there is an appetite for alternative models.”
“[But] at its core, Pisces is designed to provide liquidity for existing shareholders, not raise capital for scale-ups. If it becomes a halfway house for billion-pound companies who could already float on AIM or the Main Market, it may ultimately undermine the pipeline for proper public listings.”
