Ritika Janiya
The fintech company Revolut is now worth $45 billion after selling its shares to employees. That puts it at an incredible value higher than some of the major banks, including NatWest and Barclays. The staff, including Revolut’s chief executive, are in line to gain a collective $500 million from a deal that marks a landmark moment for the business.
Known as the trendy fintech firm, Revolut is reportedly going to be valued at massive $45 billion. That means it’s worth more than some of the biggest high street banks—think NatWest and Barclays. How did that happen? Let’s dive into the exciting details!
The latest share sale has pushed Revolut to a new high. It last had a valuation of $33 billion back in 2021, and now it will be $45 billion. Ending with that valuation, this would make Revolut not just a big fintech player but actually the most valuable private technology company in Europe.
However, the real action is the $500 million windfall that this share sale will bring to the employees. Now, that is a reward for their hard work. Among the major beneficiaries will be Nik Storonsky, chief executive and co-founder of Revolut. While it remains unknown exactly how much he holds, his stake is believed to be worth billions of pounds!
What is Revolut? Well, it all started with the rather simple idea in 2015: offer a prepaid card that would let customers exchange currencies for free. Today, the company has grown to a giant with more than 10,000 employees and 45 million customers across 38 countries. Today, they provide an array of services: from money transfers to home rentals, buy-now-pay-later credit, and even advance wage payments.
Nik Storonsky is ecstatic about the share sale. In his message, he congratulated the staff for their hard work and dedication that helped place the company where it is now. He is also similarly excited about bringing onboard new investors who equally believe in what Revolut stands for in changing the banking world.
Among the new investors are heavyweight investors such as Tiger Global Management, Coatue, and D1 Capital Partners. This could be an omen for good things to come at Revolut. The company posted record annual profits just a month ago, and more recently, it finally received a UK banking license it had been waiting on for over three years.
However, Revolut has not been free of issues either. Criticisms over the corporate culture of the company and controls against money laundering delayed the green light for its UK banking licence. But Revolut has worked hard to improve in these areas. They improved their accounting practice and are now fully compliant with the regime relating to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Besides, it is putting great effort into making the workplace better.
A big valuation, record profits, and a new banking license set the stage for a potential blockbuster stock market listing looking ahead. Although the company has not announced a date or location for this highly anticipated public offering, it hinted to comment on the future listing of the firm. Their annual report mentioned improvements in financial controls, similar to what listed companies are expected to have.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding where Revolut is likely to list its shares. UK politicians are putting pressure on the company to make its stock market debut in London rather than overseas. Labour’s City minister Tulip Siddiq is set to raise the issue with Revolut bosses later this year in a bid to ensure that the company considers listing in London.
In a nutshell, recent success for Revolut is testimony to its growth rate and a manifestation of the hard work put in by their staff. The $45 billion valuation and the windfall of $500 million for staff are just a huge achievement, abridged by the back of a very strong financial performance and new investments, which puts Revolut in line for a possible future listing on the stock market—no mean feat to be enthusiastic about the prospects of this fintech giant.
