Crowdcube recently served as the exclusive platform for the sell-side of its proprietary secondary platform for the Wayve employee tender. Wayve, an autonomous driving firm, completed a sale of employee-held shares of the private firm totaling $85 million. The transaction was enabled under the new PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System), an initiative designed to improve private markets and access to capital and opportunity. In this case, PISEC was leveraged to provide liquidity for early shareholders.
Wayve was last valued at $8.6 billion during a Series D funding round in February 2026.
According to a blog post, Crowdcube declared the sale as indicative of the growing market for secondaries. This is important because companies are remaining private for as long as possible, and at times early shareholders want (or need) liquidity. Data indicates that “internal led” secondaries represent an approximately £26 billion opportunity in Europe.
Crowdcube co-CEO Bill Simmons said that their secondary marketplace is purpose-built to cater to the nuances of UK/Europe regulations.
While Crowdcube and other securities crowdfunding platforms were launched mainly as startup/early-stage online capital formation platforms, the reality is that many investors prefer a lower-risk profile offered by a more mature firm. At the same time, secondary transactions can facilitate liquidity for interested parties. This is good for Crowdcube, as it strengthens its value proposition by providing a service for investors and sellers.
Crowdcube says the “regulatory stack” they have built is perfect for serving this sector of the capital markets, touting its “proprietary employee liquidity software.”
While Europe/UK is somewhat different from the US, a similar situation is taking place stateside, as platforms see secondaries as a viable path to building a business by providing a service that is in demand. As private markets have grown and public markets have diminished, online investment platforms like Crowdcube are well positioned to benefit from this trend due to their experience and technology.
Crowdcube reports that since its inception, £1.5 billion has been invested into private markets on its platform, and it currently manages a portfolio of more than £1.3 billion in securities, alongside 450,000+ investors.
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