Check if vested UK shares can sell before exit

The trap is the phrase “no liquidity until exit.” If your startup says that, the first thing to check is whether your company can run a PISCES secondary auction. Veremark is preparing a £6m secondary share sale on the LSE Private Securities Market so employees and early investors can sell shares without the company pursuing an IPO. PISCES, the UK framework behind that market, received regulatory approval in August 2025.

The exit-only rule can be a company policy

Many private companies tell staff that shares have no cash value until an exit. That can be true for ordinary private-company shares, because there is no public market for them. A regulated private market can create a controlled auction, without the company listing.

The rule is simple: check whether your company can use PISCES and whether your shares are eligible for a secondary sale.

Run the PISCES checklist before you sign

The checklist is for employees, not founders. You do not need to understand the whole deal. You need to know whether your own shares can move, at what price, and with what cost.

Keep this list. Use it in order, because each answer changes the next question. Each item is a question you can put to the company, the broker, or your own adviser in one meeting.

• Company eligibility: Is the company eligible under PISCES, and what fundraise, asset, or turnover test applies?
• Operator and auction agent: Who will run the employee sale, and who is the registered auction agent on the buy side?
• Vested-share eligibility: Which classes, tranches, or employee lots can sell, and are unvested, restricted, or option shares excluded?
• Price and valuation: What valuation does the sale use, and how was it determined?
• Auction date: When can employees submit orders, and when does the auction run?
• Buy-side participation: Who can buy, is there a minimum order, and can the company or insiders participate?
• Fees: What does the company pay, what do sellers pay, and are fees deducted from proceeds?
• Transfer and tax: Who transfers the shares, what paperwork is needed, and what tax treatment applies?

Eligibility decides whether the sale is available. If the company is too small or the structure is wrong, the auction may not be available. A regulated sale also needs an operator and a buy-side agent, not just a promise from the founder.

Vested does not always mean sellable. Options, restricted shares, and shares held through a nominee may need conversion, approval, or a different process. A secondary price can sit below the last round, especially if the buy side is thin.

Fees can be small in total and large on a small stake. Transfer and tax questions are where a “simple sale” becomes a delayed sale, so ask them before you commit to an order.

Veremark shows the deal terms in plain view

Veremark's planned sale is tied to a reported $100m enterprise valuation after the company raised $26m (£19.27m) in Series B financing earlier in 2026.

Crowdcube will handle employee participation and buy-side orders for the proposed Veremark LSE Private Securities Market transaction. Singer Capital Markets will act as a buy-side registered auction agent alongside Crowdcube for the Veremark transaction. The company expects the employee sale to occur on 22 September and the auction to run on 7 October.

Veremark would be the third firm to use the LSE Private Securities Market for a sale to employees and early investors, following Wayve and Moneybox.

Do not ask whether selling is possible; ask which checklist items are already true. If the company cannot answer them, stop there. If it can, you have a real option to test before you sign anything.