London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) chief executive David Schwimmer has hailed the "growing momentum" of the company's new Pisces private markets venue after reporting a sharp rise in first-half profit.

Schwimmer said the venue, which recently facilitated some of its first major transactions, was "opening up significant new market opportunities." Pisces, which received FCA approval and launched in 2024, is designed to provide a regulated secondary trading venue for shares in private companies, an area that has grown substantially as more firms choose to remain private for longer. The venue addresses a long-standing liquidity gap for employees and early investors in private firms, who have traditionally faced limited options to sell their holdings before an IPO or acquisition.

Earlier this month, autonomous driving startup Wayve became one of the first companies to use Pisces for its employee secondary share sale, followed by another transaction from London-based fintech Moneybox.

Strong Financial Performance

LSEG reported a 6.9 per cent rise in turnover to £4.8bn for the first six months of the year, while pre-tax profit soared by nearly a third to £1.3bn. The results reflect continued growth across LSEG's diversified businesses, which span capital markets, data and analytics, and post-trade services following the transformative acquisition of Refinitiv in 2021.

"We are combining all of this innovation with a material improvement to margins and exceptional cash flow growth," Schwimmer said.

The FTSE 100 firm completed a record £2.1bn share buyback in the first half of the year, with a further £1.4bn planned for 2026. LSEG also raised its dividend by 17 per cent to 55p.

LSE 24 and Expansion Plans

Alongside Pisces, LSEG is preparing to launch its new round-the-clock securities trading venue, known as LSE 24. The initiative aims to boost liquidity and attract retail investors who might otherwise trade on alternative 24-hour venues such as cryptocurrency exchanges. The move comes as exchanges globally explore extended or continuous trading hours, with US bourses also weighing similar proposals to meet demand from international and retail participants.

Recovery from AI-Related Sell-Off

Earlier in the year, LSEG was among several London-listed technology and data stocks that experienced a sharp sell-off, driven by investor concerns that the rise of major AI firms could erode their competitive margins.

The company has since reaffirmed its focus on profitability and the strategic integration of AI across its operations. LSEG's stock has risen by approximately five per cent since the beginning of the year.