How to buy private company shares in Europe

Updated 2026-10-26

Buying shares in a private company means buying from someone who already owns them (a secondary) or joining a funding round (a primary). This guide covers secondaries: where they trade, how they are priced, what to check, and how to spot a scam.

Where you can buy private company shares

Secondary marketplaces. Forge, EquityZen and Hiive match buyers and sellers of late-stage private shares. Most listings are US companies, and most buyers must qualify as US accredited investors, so access from Europe is limited.

UK PISCES platforms. Since 2025 the UK runs PISCES, a regulated framework for trading private company shares in scheduled trading windows. The FCA approved the London Stock Exchange, JP Jenkins and Asset Match as operators, and the first trading events took place in March 2026. Only institutional investors, high-net-worth and sophisticated investors, and company employees can buy.

The EU. The EU has no equivalent venue yet. The European Commission consulted on a private-share trading platform in spring 2026, and any rules will take time.

Crowdfunding platforms. Some equity crowdfunding platforms run their own secondary markets, where investors resell stakes bought on the platform. You usually hold the shares through the platform’s nominee, not in your own name.

Funds and SPVs. Some funds and single-deal SPVs buy stakes in well-known pre-IPO companies and sell units to investors. You get access to big names, but you pay fees at each layer, and you rely on the manager to have bought what they say.

Angel syndicates. At seed and Series A, the sellers are founders, early employees and angels, and the buyers are mostly other angels and syndicates. AVA Ventures buys such stakes and offers them to its syndicate members deal by deal.

How secondary prices work

Buyers price a stake against the last funding round. In early 2026, shares in late-stage companies traded on average about 8% below their last round, and around a third of trades closed above it. Younger companies trade at deeper discounts, especially for ordinary shares, which rank behind the investors’ preferred shares. The startup equity calculator shows how share class, stage and the age of the last round move the price.

A discount is not a bargain by itself. A round priced in 2021 can still overstate what a company is worth today.

What to check before you buy

1. The seller owns the shares. Ask for the share register entry or certificate.
2. The company approves the transfer. Most companies have a right of first refusal and need board consent. A sale without it can be void.
3. The share class. Preferred and ordinary shares carry different rights in an exit. Ask for the articles and the liquidation preference stack.
4. What you actually hold. Direct shares, a unit in an SPV, a nominee holding, or a forward contract. With a forward contract you hold only a promise from the seller to deliver shares later, often at the IPO.
5. All the fees. Add up the platform fee, the SPV or fund fee and carried interest. Each layer comes out of your return.
6. Information rights. Secondary buyers often get far less information than the last round’s investors.

Red flags of pre-IPO scams

Regulators warn about pre-IPO offers sold through cold calls and social media. Watch for:

• Pressure to decide fast: “the IPO is next month”, “only a few shares left”.
• Claims of no fees. In a case filed in August 2026, the US SEC alleged that a pre-IPO fund seller charged hidden markups averaging 46% above the price it paid for the shares.
• Sellers who are not registered with a financial regulator, or who cannot show they own the shares.
• Hype around the hottest names in AI or space, with no documents.

If an offer fails any of these checks, walk away.

Investing with AVA Ventures

AVA Ventures is an angel syndicate led by Alexander Busarov from Riga. Members are experienced investors who back European tech companies deal by deal through an SPV: pre-seed and seed rounds, and stakes we buy from founders, employees and early investors. The minimum is €5k per deal. Apply to join the syndicate.

Startup investments are illiquid, and you can lose all the money you invest.