Oxford Science Enterprises
Oxford Science Enterprises
“Private markets have evolved significantly over the last decade, but liquidity solutions have not always kept pace.
The Private Securities Market creates an important bridge between private company flexibility and public market standards, providing founders, employees and investors with a new pathway to access liquidity while allowing businesses to remain private and continue their growth journey.
We are delighted to have played a role in this landmark inaugural transaction.”
Julian Morse
Co-CEO, Cavendish
Cavendish acts as Registered Auction Agent and Trading Registered Auction Agent to Crowdcube on the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market inaugural auction: TPEIC transaction for Oxford Science Enterprises.
The London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market (PSM) has been developed to address one of the most significant challenges in private markets: liquidity. As companies remain private for longer, founders, employees and early investors increasingly seek opportunities to realise value without requiring an IPO or trade sale.
Operating under the UK’s PISCES framework, the PSM provides a regulated venue for secondary transactions in private company securities through periodic auctions. It combines the flexibility of private ownership with the transparency, governance and market infrastructure associated with public markets.
The inaugural transaction on the PSM was TPE for Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), a standardised investment structure designed to facilitate repeatable, scalable private market transactions in OSE, the independent investment company that backs and commercialises breakthrough science and technology emerging from the University of Oxford. OSE provides investors with exposure to a portfolio of high-growth companies spanning artificial intelligence, deep technology, semiconductors, life sciences and biotechnology.
As OSE continues to mature and demonstrate a growing track record of realisations, the transaction provided an opportunity for shareholders to access liquidity through a structured market process while preserving the company’s long-term growth trajectory.
By utilising the PSM, participants benefited from an exchange-operated venue, proportionate disclosure requirements and a transparent process for price discovery and execution. For investors, the transaction demonstrated a new route to access high-quality private market opportunities through trusted market infrastructure.
Cavendish was pleased to support this landmark transaction by acting as a Registered Auction Agent and, separately, as Trading Registered Auction Agent to Crowdcube, helping facilitate the inaugural auction on the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market.
Meet the deal team
Emily Watts
Head of Corporate Development
