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Written question asked by Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 10 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 April 2026. It was answered by Dan Tomlinson (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 April 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Shares: Sales

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to make it easier for current and former start-up employees to realise the value of their equity, including through secondary share sales.

Answer

The Government has taken significant steps to allow more employees to acquire shares in their employer's company.

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced a major expansion of the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme eligibility limits, which is expected to support around 1,800 high-growth scale-up companies and allow them to reward an estimated 70,000 employees with tax-advantaged share options.

In May 2025, the government legislated to establish PISCES, making private secondary markets more transparent and efficient, enabling employees, founders and early-stage investors to realise and reinvest their gains.

The Government also legislated in the 2026 Finance Bill to allow employers, with employee consent, to amend existing EMI and CSOP contracts to allow employees to exercise their share options on PISCES platforms while retaining the tax advantages of EMI and CSOP.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
126048
Session
2024-26
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Equity Sales Shares New businesses
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk