Smarter Web Plans £25M BTC-Backed Preferred Shares

The Smarter Web Company, a UK-listed Bitcoin treasury firm holding 2,878 BTC, wants to become the first company of its kind to sell perpetual preferred shares on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market. The proposed instrument, ticker MORE, targets a raise of between £15 million and £25 million, with the offer only proceeding if at least £10 million is subscribed and a minimum of three market makers commit to the listing.

The structure mirrors a playbook already familiar to Bitcoin treasury investors in the US, where Strategy and smaller peers have used preferred stock to fund coin purchases without diluting common shareholders. MORE would pay a cumulative dividend at a variable weekly rate, carry liquidation preference ahead of ordinary shares, and give the company itself the right to redeem the stock — but holders get no vote. That last point matters: the shares are pitched purely as an income instrument for investors who want Bitcoin-linked yield without governance rights or direct coin custody.

Smarter Web can support the dividend obligation from a substantial capital cushion. In July, the UK's High Court approved a reduction of the company's share premium account by £210 million, converting it into distributable reserves. That leaves the company with roughly £132.5 million in reserves it can legally use to pay dividends — the accounting prerequisite UK company law demands before a firm can commit to a recurring cash payout like MORE's weekly coupon.

Two approvals still stand between the plan and an actual listing. Shareholders vote on the proposal on September 28, and the Financial Conduct Authority must separately sign off on a prospectus before shares can be offered or admitted to trading. Both are procedural rather than adversarial hurdles, but neither is guaranteed to land on a specific timeline, and a delay at the FCA stage would push the raise — and the additional BTC purchases it's meant to fund — further out.

The Block reported that TD Cowen raised its price target on Smarter Web to £0.73 from £0.64 following the announcement, implying roughly 90% upside from current levels — a notably bullish read for a plan that hasn't yet cleared its shareholder vote, let alone its regulatory sign-off. The rating suggests analysts see the preferred-share mechanism as a durable, lower-dilution way for the company to keep adding to its treasury, similar to how Strive's SATA preferred stock has approached $1 billion outstanding in the US market.

Smarter Web's move also reflects a broader trend among Bitcoin treasury companies to diversify their funding beyond convertible debt and at-the-market equity sales, both of which come with dilution or refinancing risk. Preferred stock, by contrast, locks in a fixed obligation without giving up equity control — a structure that larger peers like Strategy have leaned on repeatedly to keep expanding their coin holdings through market cycles.

FAQ

What is a perpetual preferred share?
It's a class of stock with no maturity date that pays a fixed or variable dividend and ranks above ordinary shares in a liquidation, but typically carries no voting rights.

How much Bitcoin does Smarter Web currently hold?
The company holds approximately 2,878 BTC on its balance sheet as of its most recent disclosure.

When will shareholders vote on the MORE preferred shares?
The vote is scheduled for September 28, after which the plan still needs Financial Conduct Authority approval of a prospectus before any shares can be sold.

What happens if the £10 million minimum isn't reached?
The company has said the offer will not proceed if subscriptions fall short of £10 million or if fewer than three market makers commit to the listing.