Ella MarshHM Treasury has announced the launch of the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox (PISCES).� This initiative aims to support new and emerging companies to raise capital and scale up while strengthening the UK’s capital markets.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox) Regulations 2025, set the legal framework for PISCES.� The Regulations were made on 14 May 2025 and were laid before Parliament on 15 May 2025.� They are scheduled to come into force on 5 June 2025.� This meets the Chancellor’s Mansion House commitment to set up PISCES before the end of May and it expects trading to start in the Autumn.
Alongside the announcement HM Treasury confirmed it will legislate in the next Finance Bill to allow employers, with employee permission, to amend existing enterprise management incentive and company share option plans to include a PISCES trading event as an exercisable event, without losing tax advantages, and exempt PISCES transactions from Stamp Taxes on Shares.� This will make PISCES more appealing and encourage a greater number of businesses to use the platform.
The FCA has been designated as the regulator for the sandbox.� It is mandated to assess applications from eligible operators, impose conditions to ensure transparent trading, enforce robust disclosure requirements, and monitor market practices to prevent abuse.� The FCA will publish its rules soon after the legislation comes into force and will then accept applications to operate PISCES trading events.