A small UK digital marketing company is about to do something the entire British financial market has never seen. The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has completed a £210 million capital reduction of its share premium account, a technical but consequential move that sets the stage for launching the UK’s first Bitcoin-backed perpetual preferred stock.

Shareholders approved the reduction on June 17, 2026. High Court confirmation is expected around July 15, 2026. Once that rubber stamp arrives, SWC will have roughly £132.5 million in distributable reserves ready to support the preferred equity issuance.

What a capital reduction actually means

When you reduce a share premium account, you are converting locked-up accounting capital into reserves the company can actually distribute to shareholders. The structure is designed so the preferred stock issuance does not dilute common shareholders.

The asset sitting behind all of this is Bitcoin. SWC currently holds approximately 2,878 BTC, valued at between $178 million and $181 million as of early July 2026. That Bitcoin treasury is the primary collateral and economic engine for the preferred stock’s dividend promise.

Why this is genuinely new territory for UK markets

SWC trades on multiple exchanges: Aquis and the London Stock Exchange under the ticker SWC, the OTCQB market in the US under TSWCF, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under 3M8.

CEO Andrew Webley has signaled that the preferred stock launch could come before Q4 2026, potentially accelerating the original timeline.

How SWC got here

SWC began accepting Bitcoin payments for its digital marketing services back in 2022. The formal Bitcoin treasury strategy came in 2025. Rather than simply accumulating Bitcoin and letting the stock price reflect the NAV, SWC wants to productize its Bitcoin holdings into a regulated, distributable financial instrument for UK investors.

UK company law requires court confirmation for certain capital reductions, and the July 15 date represents the moment SWC clears that formal bar.

SWC’s 2,878 BTC is the economic foundation of this entire structure. A sharp drawdown in Bitcoin’s price between now and the preferred stock launch would not derail the legal mechanics, but it would change the math on what kind of dividend yield the company can credibly promise and sustain.