Revolut CEO not ready to commit to UK IPO

Revolut’s chairman is not ready to commit to an initial public offering (IPO) in London.

Speaking to the Financial Times (FT) on Tuesday (July 2), Martin Gilbert welcomed imminent changes to UK listing rules.

“All the steps that regulators are taking are good. They allow founder-led companies like Revolut to list here rather than having no choice,” Gilbert said. “But again, let’s see how this all plays out, the proof will certainly be in the future.”

He added that Revolut was at least a year away from an IPO, with the company planning to “keep an open mind” about where that listing would take place.

The report notes that these comments mark a shift from views expressed by Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky, who ruled out a London IPO. Earlier this year, the company’s UK CEO Francesca Carlesi had indicated that a London listing was still possible.

“The UK is our home country and it’s also where many of our investors come from,” Carlesi said. “We know that companies always benefit from being listed where their biggest market is.”

But she added that her immediate goal was not to become a publicly traded company. Instead, Carlesi said she wanted to help Revolut address issues with accounts, controls management and culture as the company entered its third year of efforts to obtain a U.K. banking license.

Gilbert’s interview with the FT came on the same day that Revolut published its annual report for 2023, showing that its revenue has increased by 95%: from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $2.2 billion last year.

Additionally, Revolut’s pre-tax profit hit a record $545 million as the company signed up 12 million new customers in 2023 – the fintech’s third profitable year – taking its customer base to 45 million last month.

“We remain committed to our ongoing UK banking license application, in addition to bringing the Revolut app to new markets and customers around the world,” Storonsky said in a press release accompanying the report.

“Even though we have reached 45 million retail customers globally six months into 2024, Revolut remains on track for exponential growth in 2024 and beyond, continuing to redefine the financial services landscape as we know it.”