By Charlie Conchie
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) – A board games developer is set to become the first company to list its shares on Britain’s new private stock market later this month, in a deal that will take place on a rival platform to that operated by the London Stock Exchange.
QPlay, which develops ‘hybrid’ physical and digital board games, will allow trading in its shares on March 18 on a PISCES platform operated by London-based private markets firm JP Jenkins, according to a statement by the company.
The deal will be the first of its kind on PISCES, or private intermittent securities and capital exchange system, a new type of stock market introduced by Britain’s financial regulator last year to boost investment into private companies. Under the PISCES framework, companies can allow trading in their shares on a temporary basis without the need to go public.
“Being the first operator to conduct a PISCES liquidity event is a major milestone for the team at JP Jenkins, along with the policymakers and partners who we have worked closely with over the last few years,” said Veronika Oswald, commercial director of JP Jenkins, which won approval to operate a PISCES market in November last year.
The introduction of PISCES comes as part of a suite of reforms to Britain’s capital markets designed to boost growth and increase the rate of initial public offerings in London, after a slide in recent years.
The London Stock Exchange was the first company to win regulatory approval for PISCES and announced its inaugural planned deal earlier this month, which is due to take place after that of QPlay. Other markets offer similar regulated platforms. Rival exchange Nasdaq in New York has long had a private market segment.
(Reporting by Charlie Conchie; Editing Anousha Sakoui)
