Revolut chair welcomes London listing overhaul as fintech reports record profits

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The chair of Revolut has praised upcoming reforms to UK listing rules but fell short of committing to a London initial public offering as the British fintech reported record profits.

“All the moves [regulators] are making are good, they’re allowing founder-led companies like Revolut to list here rather than just have no choice,” Martin Gilbert told the Financial Times on Tuesday. “But again let’s see how it all pans out, the proof will definitely be what happens in the future.”

Gilbert, a City veteran who joined the fintech’s board in 2020, said Revolut was at least a year away from a public listing and would “keep an open mind” on the venue.

His comments mark a softening of previous remarks from chief executive Nikolay Storonsky, who previously shunned the UK regulatory environment and last year ruled out a London IPO. Meanwhile, the SoftBank-backed company is still waiting for a UK banking licence more than three years after submitting an application to regulators.

The UK has also been seeking to attract more companies to list in London as it tries to address an exodus from its capital markets. The Financial Conduct Authority has been consulting on changes to its listing rules, including making it easier for companies to use dual-class share structures, which allow founders to retain control even after selling down much of their stakes in an IPO.

London-based Revolut said on Tuesday that it made a pre-tax profit of £438mn in 2023, up from a loss of £25mn the previous year. Its revenues almost doubled to £1.8bn.

Founded by Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko in 2015, Revolut has pursued an ambitious international expansion, outstripping the growth of rival challenger banks including Monzo and Starling, even as it still awaits a UK banking licence.

The group added 12mn customers last year, taking its current total to more than 45mn. Its interest income, meanwhile, climbed more than fivefold to £500mn in the period.

“Our diversified business model continues to demonstrate resilience, with robust growth across various business units,” said Storonsky. “This growth was fuelled by the introduction of new products and the addition of millions of new customers.”

Its UK banking licence application has been stalled by problems including a warning from auditors that they could not fully verify revenue figures in the group’s 2021 accounts. A UK banking licence would allow the fintech to widen the products and services it can offer in its biggest market.

The group, which has a European banking licence from authorities in Lithuania and offers personal loans in France, Germany and Spain, expanded its loan book to £528mn.

Advertising and marketing costs soared more than 80 per cent to £241mn last year. As part of a push to expand in Europe, Revolut purchased advertising space on air bridge billboards at airports across the continent.

Despite the prolonged uncertainty over a UK licence, the fintech is targeting a valuation of more than $40bn in a share sale, the FT reported last month. That would eclipse the $33bn valuation Revolut achieved in a 2021 fundraising.

The company last month announced plans to move its headquarters to one of the most prominent buildings in Canary Wharf, where it has been based since it was founded.