London tests new private market as Moneybox hits $1.1bn
The British savings app reached a $1.1bn valuation through employee share sales, testing a new London exchange designed to keep European tech companies from listing in New York.
Moneybox has reached a $1.1bn valuation without raising new capital. Instead, the British savings and investing app hit unicorn status through an employee share sale running on the London Stock Exchange’s new Private Securities Market.
The transaction relies on a government framework called Pisces, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System. It allows private companies to open occasional, permissioned trading windows so staff and early backers can cash out while avoiding the cost and disclosure requirements of a full public listing.
For London, this is a critical experiment. For years, Britain’s most successful tech firms have complained that staying private traps investors, while going public often means a shallow domestic market or a relocation to New York. Pisces aims to offer a middle ground: domestic liquidity without an IPO.
Moneybox’s underlying financials give the milestone some weight. Founded in 2016 by Ben Stanway and Charlie Mortimer, the app serves over 1.9 million customers and holds more than £23bn in assets. It passed £115m in revenue in 2025 and recorded its third consecutive year of profit.
However, the £800m price tag carries a significant asterisk. A traditional unicorn valuation is set by outside investors competing in a funding round. This price was set by employees selling up to £45m in shares on a market with thin trading and no public price history.
Whether that price would survive a genuine capital raise remains an open question for any company using Pisces. Still, other major European players are watching closely. Self-driving firm Wayve recently ran an $85m tender at an $8.5bn valuation, while Revolut is weighing a secondary sale at $115bn.
Firms like Klarna, Monzo and OakNorth sit in a similar holding pattern. “PISCES represents an important innovation for UK capital markets,” said Stanway, “and we are proud to be among the first companies helping demonstrate how it can support the next generation of ambitious private business.”
The ultimate test for London is whether Pisces becomes a genuine alternative to floating, or simply a tool to delay the inevitable. Moneybox’s numbers will be among the first to provide an answer.
