Wiltshire brewer Wadworth is set to auction shares through the UK’s new Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (Pisces) private stock market, which allows private companies to sell shares into a wider pool of potential investors.
While the company has traded its shares through quarterly auctions since early 2023, the move to Pisces “marks a significant milestone” by broadening its pool of potential investors, the company said.
Wadworth is profitable but is only making “a modest return” on substantial assets, according to Hardman & Co, which undertook research for the auction.
The company owns 19 pubs and has 127 tenanted pubs, as well as a new brewery built in 2023.
A “large majority” of its shares are owned by more than 100 family members.
Alongside selling to and operating its own pubs, Wadworth sells to off-trade partners including Waitrose, Asda and local retailers. One of Britain’s longest-established independent brewers, the company is best known for its 6X amber ale, made at its Devizes brewery.
The auction will be the first to go live on AssetMatch, one of four FCA-approved Pisces operators.
Asset Match executive chairman and founder Iain Baillie said he was “very excited” for his platform’s first transaction on the Pisces market.
“The auction for Wadworth & Co will be the first in a planned series, which will provide ongoing liquidity through periodic trades rather than a one-off event. Research by Hardman & Co will add transparency and inform investors about the company,” he said.
”We look forward to applying this model to further transactions, and I would like to thank the teams at Wadworth for their deep and comprehensive engagement and Hardman for creating a way to provide transparent research on private entities.”
The auction will commence on 11 August 2026 and run until 30 September.
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