The U.K.’s effort to encourage trading of private securities is getting some competition with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) approval of a second platform under its new PISCES model.
In August, the FCA approved the London Stock Exchange plc to operate a trading platform to enable intermittent trading in private stocks. On Tuesday, the regulator approved a second entrant, JP Jenkins, which is a London-based liquidity venue for unlisted stocks.
“Bringing a second operator into the market will boost competition, attract a greater variety of businesses and drive opportunities for investors,” the regulator said in a release.
“We have worked at pace to get this project over the line and being granted the licence formally recognizes not only our recent achievements but also our extensive knowledge of supporting unlisted companies, their investors and indeed the wider U.K. economy,” said Mike McCudden, CEO of JP Jenkins.
The FCA said that it’s also engaging with other prospective PISCES platform operators, with the aim of enabling them to launch their own ventures as soon as possible.
“We are delighted to authorize our second PISCES operator, another step towards delivering our vision of a competitive and innovative marketplace,” said Simon Walls, executive director of markets at the FCA, in a release.