Klarna IPO filing spurs hope of British fintech listings
Stockholm-headquartered Klarna, best known for its buy-now pay-later products, publicly filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month in its second attempt at listing on the public markets in four years.
It had looked to IPO in 2021, after shooting from a valuation of $5.5 billion to $45.6 billion in three funding rounds. But investors soured on tech companies as interest rates rose and economies stuttered, and the company was forced to cut its valuation to $6.7 billion in a 2022 fundraising.
Now it is back, and could be worth at least $15 billion in an IPO likely to be priced in the first half of April, one person with knowledge of the plans said.
"Any successful IPO of a high-profile business in the sector will be a catalyst for others to look again at an IPO as a strategic option for growth and/or liquidity," said James Wootton, a partner at Linklaters, who advised money transfer company Wise on its 2021 listing in London.
At the peak of a post-pandemic fundraising boom in 2021, 101 fintech companies raised $296.86 billion via IPOs on global stock markets, according to data from PitchBook, compiled for Reuters. But between 2022 and 2024, just 86 firms raised $32.76 billion via IPOs.
Klarna's plans have fuelled hopes of a resurgence.
"It's quite clear that the market is looking to Klarna as a bellwether for future fintech IPOs, many of which are in a long pipeline," said Tim Levene, chief executive of London-listed fintech investment fund Augmentum.
"We hope that Klarna is the first of many to list, which will prove a positive data point for the rest of the market."
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Challenger banks Monzo and Starling, as well as payments companies Zilch and Ebury, are among the fintech companies considering plans to list at some point in the future, sources close to the companies told Reuters.
Zilch, which offers a competing buy-now pay-later product to Klarna, is currently aiming to float in 2026, Philip Belamant, its chief executive, told Reuters.
"The Klarna IPO will be a significant moment for the fintech sector, and we'll be watching closely," he said, adding that a successful IPO could "set the stage for greater investor confidence in European fintechs going public".
Ebury, a Spanish-founded payments company majority owned by Banco Santander (SAN.MC), opens new tab, is gearing up for a London listing by June at the earliest, one person familiar with knowledge of its plans said.
The company will likely seek a valuation of around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), the person said, adding the timing would depend on market conditions.
Ebury did not respond to a request for comment. Santander declined to comment. It has said in the past that listing Ebury was one of many alternatives for the business.
Britain's Revolut has previously signalled its intention to list publicly. A spokesperson for the challenger bank, Britain's most highly-valued startup, declined to comment on specifics.
"Our focus is not on if or when we IPO, but on continuing to expand the business, building new products, and providing better and cheaper services to serve our growing global customer base," the person said.
Zopa, which is headquartered in London, has no firm timeline for an IPO, a spokesperson said. "We continue to plan towards an eventual IPO, preferably in the UK and can be ready in a short time, however we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions," the spokesperson said.
To be sure, many have raised money and can wait, and conditions are volatile, forcing some European companies to put IPOs on hold.
"A lot of them (fintech companies) have the luxury of being able to choose their time,' said Patrick Evans, head of UK equity capital markets at Citi.
The choice of the U.S. venue by Klarna is also likely to intensify debate over where these fast-growing companies should list.
Monzo has discussed floating in Britain or the U.S. but has set no firm timeline or venue for an IPO, a person familiar with the company's plans said.
The London Stock Exchange has been making overtures to fintech companies including Zilch, one person familiar with the matter said. Zilch has yet to choose a venue, the person said. The London Stock Exchange Group declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Australian insurer Suncorp's full-year cash earnings rise 8%
Aug 14 (Reuters) - Australian insurer Suncorp ( opens new tab posted an 8% rise in its full-year cash earnings on Thursday, driven by improving underlying insurance margins and higher investment returns. The general insurer reported cash earnings of A$1.49 billion ($974.61 million) for the year ended June 30, compared with A$1.37 billion a year ago, beating the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$1.47 billion. ($1 = 1.5288 Australian dollars)
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Inheritance tax proposals would make UK ‘dangerous place' for wealthy
Treasury proposals to stop parents from making unlimited tax-free gifts to their children would make the UK a 'dangerous place' for wealthy people to live, tax experts have warned. Government officials are said to be examining proposals that would tighten the rules on the gifting of money and assets in an attempt to close the black hole in government finances at the autumn budget. The move has been attacked by the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, who claimed Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, wanted to tax 'what you leave your children … all to pay for [her] failures'. • How an inheritance tax raid could work — and what you can do about it Richard Tice, Nigel Farage's deputy, promised Reform UK would abolish a tax that caused 'unnecessary pain to grieving families' and 'disincentivises hard work, ambition and risk-taking'. Dan Neidle, the founder of Tax Policy Associates, said while a raid on inheritance tax might be a good idea in theory, Reeves was highly unlikely to adopt it amid concerns that it would further discourage wealthy people from living in the UK. 'The changes to inheritance tax rules and non-dom status at the last budget have already sent quite a damaging message to wealthy people and there is a big risk that Labour suffers a death by a thousand cuts on the rich who have the ability to leave the UK,' he said. 'You would be saying to non-doms that not only do you have to pay inheritance tax — as announced in Reeves's last budget — but you can't even gift your way out of it. It would make the UK a very dangerous place for a wealthy person to be'. Neidle added that the move would also not necessarily help Reeves balance the books as it would be almost impossible for the Office for Budget Responsibility to accurately assess how much such a new tax might raise. 'No one knows how much people are gifting currently so there is no way that you could calculate how much the tax might theoretically raise,' he said. 'And if there is one thing the Treasury hates, it is not knowing the impact of tax changes.' David Sturrock, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said that Reeves was unlikely to be able to raise significant sums from inheritance tax without hitting small gifts made by middle earners. The Treasury is looking at the possibility of tightening rules that taper away inheritance tax liabilities on gifts made within seven years before a death, but Sturrock said there 'isn't a large amount of revenues coming in from gifts within that period. I don't think that is going to be a big revenue raiser'. A lifetime cap on tax-free gifts is also said to be under consideration. Sturrock said this would also have to be set very low to bring in large amounts, pointing to evidence that 90 per cent of the £14 billion in gifts made each year were below £20,000. 'It's going to have to be a number in the small thousands if you want to start bringing in substantial amounts of revenue,' he said. 'In a large majority of cases these gifts are being used to buy houses, it's help with a deposit. Those are more often received by those with wealthier parents, but it is still some 'ordinary' people too. [A cap] might be a way of preventing lifetime gifting to avoid some elements of inheritance tax, but it doesn't seem like it's going to raise game-changing sums unless you drastically expand the scope of gifts that are going to be taxed.' Badenoch said that Labour 'want your savings, your pension, your home and now what you leave your children', arguing for cutting spending rather than raising taxes. Tice confirmed his party was still committed to abolishing inheritance tax completely, a move which would cost an estimated £14 billion by the end of the parliament. 'Inheritance tax does little more than add extra unnecessary pain to grieving families. It disincentivises hard work, ambition and risk-taking, so it's no wonder this Labour government are such big fans of it,' he said. 'Reform UK would abolish this death tax, ensuring people are rewarded for their hard work and putting more money into the pockets of families.'
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
‘Viable chance' of ceasefire in Ukraine thanks to Trump, says Starmer
Donald Trump's interventions over the Ukraine war have created a 'viable' chance of a ceasefire, but Britain stands ready to 'increase pressure' on Russia if necessary, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In a call with allies on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the meeting expected between the US president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is 'hugely important', but any deal must protect Kyiv's 'territorial integrity'. It comes amid concerns about the prospect of Ukraine being sidelined in negotiations about its own future after Mr Trump suggested any truce would involve some 'swapping' of land. Leaders including Sir Keir and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky held virtual talks with the US president earlier on Wednesday as Europe braces for the outcome of his face-to-face discussions with Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday. Mr Trump told reporters in Washington he rated the call 'a 10' and revealed a second meeting, with both the Ukrainian president and the Russian president present, could take place 'if the first one goes okay'. Co-chairing a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event of truce – Sir Keir said any deal must sit alongside 'robust' security guarantees. 'This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important,' he said. 'As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire. 'And now we do have that chance, because of the work of that the president has put in.' Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage, and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said. 'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' he told allies. 'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.' Mr Trump announced last week that he would meet Mr Putin on US soil on Friday, as he seeks an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office. It is believed one of the Russian leader's demands is for Ukraine to cede parts of the Donbas region which it still controls. But Mr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by the country's constitution. In a press conference alongside German chancellor Friedrich Merz after the joint call on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president said 'Trump supported us today' and the US is ready to continue that support. French president Emmanuel Macron said the US president had been 'very clear' on the virtual meeting that he wanted to secure a ceasefire in the talks on Friday. Asked if it was his decision not to invite Mr Zelensky to his meeting with Mr Putin on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters in Washington: 'No, just the opposite.' 'We had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly.' He added: 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.' He continued: 'We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there.'
