Moneybox boosts London’s Pisces market in ‘milestone’ £45m sale
Moneybox has granted London’s novice private markets platform another major boost after confirming a £45m employee share sale.
The move has been hailed a “milestone transaction” in the City’s efforts to keep tech firms from looking for opportunities abroad. The fintech will use the London Stock Exchange’s Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) to allow employees to sell part of their vested equity.
The transaction values the company at £800m, a 45 per cent hike from the prior £550m valuation set during its last major funding round in late 2024, and marks the first use of the platform by a UK fintech.
It is expected to test whether the flagship private market exchange can offer liquidity to shareholders and allow investors to access high-growth private companies, while stopping companies fleeing for an IPO overseas.
Moneybox confirmed the transaction is solely an employee liquidity event rather than an investor sell-off, with employees selling existing shares rather than the company raising fresh capital.
Ben Stanway, co-founder and executive chair of Moneybox, said PISCES enabled the “next generation of ambitious private businesses” to scale and innovate.
The private market push
PISCES was approved by the financial watchdog in August 2025, intended to bridge the gap between venture capital funding and public listings, in a bid to allow founders and investors to unlock value without pushing companies to list before they are ready.
But the framework faced a slow start, failing to generate enthusiasm among large private companies who instead opted to handle share sales internally or through private broker networks, including Revolut.
Activity has begun to pick up, bolstered by autonomous driving unicorn Wayve unveiling a bumper £63m employee share sale at the start of July.
Wayve’s use of the framework marked the first use of the platform by a major UK tech firm.
Dame Julia Hoggett, chief executive of LSEG, said Moneybox’s auction demonstrated the “growing momentum” behind PISCES, showing it can provide private companies needed “liquidity”.
Michael Healy, chief executive of IG consumer, said the addition of Moneybox to PISCES is “a significant vote of confidence” for the UK’s private market, but the “real test is now whether PISCES can build enough momentum” to attract high-quality companies and create much needed liquidity.
He said: “PISCES has the potential to… strengthen the UK’s competitiveness as a place to build and scale businesses.
“The long-term success of PISCES will ultimately depend on creating a market that is both well-regulated and as inclusive as possible.”