Revolut in UK valued at $ 33 billion after fundraising backed by Softbank

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) – UK digital banking app Revolut has raised around $ 800 million in a new funding round led by Softbank (9984.T) Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management, valuing the company at around $ 33 billion.

The fundraiser makes Revolut Britain’s most valuable fintech company and, on paper, it’s now worth little more than the market cap of traditional lender NatWest (NWG.L).

Founded in 2015 by former Credit Suisse trader Nik Storonsky and software developer Vladyslav Yatsenko, Revolut has attracted more than 16 million clients with products such as forex, debit cards and stock trading.

The London-based company has gained customers by undercutting traditional bank rates for currency exchange and other products, including cryptocurrency investments.

However, it has yet to translate this rapid growth into profitability, as its annual losses doubled last year on investment in risk control. Read more

In recent years, Revolut has accelerated its global expansion, penetrating markets such as the United States, Australia and Japan.

The new money will mainly be used to help with product development and marketing in new countries in which Revolut is expanding, particularly the United States and India, CFO Mikko Salovaara told reporters.

The fundraising would not affect the timing of a possible listing of Revolut, he said.

“We believe that in the long term we will be a public company, but we have no immediate plans for listing,” he said.

The investment round was endorsed by UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who is keen to develop the country’s fintech industry to help keep the financial sector competitive after the UK leaves the European Union.

“We want to see more UK Fintech success stories like Revolut,” he said.

Reporting by Lawrence White; edited by Jason Neely and Rachel Armstrong

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