What PISCES actually is
PISCES — the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System — is a UK regulatory framework, introduced in 2025 and run by the Financial Conduct Authority as a sandbox, for secondary trading in the shares of private companies. It is not a stock exchange and it is not a listing. Each participating company’s shares remain private and unlisted; what PISCES adds is a supervised venue where existing shares can change hands in scheduled windows, with disclosure, market-abuse controls and record-keeping that mirrors the standards of a public market.
Why the trading windows are intermittent
A private company cannot support continuous trading: there is no continuous price discovery, no market maker obliged to quote, and no public float. PISCES works instead in short, scheduled windows — typically hours rather than days — during which a venue collects and matches orders at an agreed clearing price. Between windows the register is updated and the company knows exactly who its shareholders are. That pause is the point: it gives founders and boards visibility and control over their register, while still giving investors a real, repeatable route to buy and sell.
Who can take part
Participation is restricted. Companies choose to admit their shares and retain control over who may trade them; venues screen both issuers and investors; and access is limited to professional and institutional investors rather than the retail public. Investors are classified, checked against sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules, and onboarded ahead of a window so they can act when it opens. Because a PISCES trade settles in real shares, the investor — not a fund or a wrapper — ends up on the company’s register.
Where Auctus fits
Auctus is a channel, not a venue. It exists because qualified demand in the Gulf rarely reaches a London auction window in time: onboarding, classification, mandate fit and settlement all take preparation. Auctus qualifies GCC family offices and professional investors ahead of the calendar, presents the auctions that match their mandate, and passes their orders to an FCA-authorised UK broker who executes on the venue and holds the resulting position in custody. Auctus does not hold client money, does not hold client assets, and does not create special purpose vehicles. Investors appear directly on the cap table.
What to weigh before bidding
Private-share auctions are illiquid by design: there may be no window for months, and no guarantee that an order fills. Pricing is set by the clearing process rather than by a continuous market, so a limit price matters more than a market price. Company disclosure in a data room is rich but not a prospectus, and no regulator has approved the merits of any issuer. Investors should size positions as long-term private equity exposure and take their own advice on valuation, tax and eligibility in their jurisdiction.