Latest news with #KristoKäärmann
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stock exchange dealt another blow as £12bn fintech ditches main London listing
The online payments company Wise has said it will move its main share listing to the US, in the latest blow to London's beleaguered stock market. Wise, which is one of the biggest financial technology businesses in the country and has been listed in London since 2021, said on Thursday that it now intends to dual list its shares in the US and the UK in an attempt to attract more investors and boost its value. The company's chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, said moving its main listing would help 'drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world's deepest and most liquid capital market. 'A dual listing would also enable us to continue serving our UK-based owners effectively, as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK. The UK is home to some of the best talent in the world in financial services and technology, and we will continue to invest in our presence here to fuel our UK and global growth.' It represents yet another setback for London's stock market, as a string of high-profile companies have defected to New York in search of better liquidity, higher valuations and access to bigger investors. Last year, the construction equipment rental company Ashtead announced it would move its primary listing to the US, following companies such as the gambling group Flutter Entertainment and the building materials provider CRH. Earlier this week the drugmaker Indivior said it planned to cancel the secondary listing it had retained in London after switching its main stock listing to the US last year. Also this week the metal investment company Cobalt Holdings scrapped its move to list in London, which was expected to have raised about $230m (£170m). Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, joined the stock market in 2021 at a valuation of £8.75bn, making it the biggest ever listing of a UK tech company. The shares rose 10% on Thursday morning to value the company at more than £12bn Its decision to pivot to the US also marks another setback for London as a venue for tech businesses. In 2023 the chip designer Arm Holdings, which is headquartered in Cambridge, also decided to go public in New York rather than London. Wise will call a shareholder meeting for investors to vote on the proposal in the coming weeks. It argued that moving its primary listing could provide a possible pathway to inclusion in major US share indices, which could improve liquidity and demand for Wise shares. Matt Britzman, an equity analyst at the broker Hargreaves Lansdown, noted the decision to move the primary listing away from London created an obstacle for the company to join the FTSE 100, Britain's blue-chip share index. 'Keeping a presence in London makes sense, but it does little to sugarcoat the fact that yet another London-listed tech firm is looking across the Atlantic for better valuations – a story that's becoming all too familiar,' he said. A fifth of Wise employees are based in the UK and the company has said it plans to continue hiring and investing in the country. Wise was founded by Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in 2011, and has since grown rapidly as it has taken market share from big banks by offering a cheaper money transfer service to individuals and small businesses. Alongside the announcement, the company also reported a 15% rise in revenue for its 2025 financial year to £1.2bn, with profit before tax up 17% to £564.8m. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Wise's US listing switch lacks financial wisdom
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Wise (WISEa.L), opens new tab helps customers exchange money more cheaply, transparently and, well, wisely. But the $15 billion firm's plan, opens new tab to shift its primary listing to New York from London seems less clever. CEO, co-founder and largest shareholder Kristo Käärmann wants to tap deeper pools of liquidity and attract more American investors. Yet for a company already trading at a premium valuation, the move raises more questions than it answers. Käärmann's case rests on two key points. Wise's shares are thinly traded in London, meaning investors risk moving the market by offloading stock in large volumes. Second, a U.S. listing would boost the company's appeal to American investors and even customers. There's truth to both. The total daily value of Wise's trading volume has averaged about half of $4 billion American peer Remitly Global over the past two years according to a Breakingviews analysis of LSEG data, even though the London-listed group is much bigger. And some domestic-focused U.S. investors prefer to hold stocks listed in their home market. Yet Wise needn't cross the Atlantic Ocean to boost liquidity. One possible obstacle to winning more investors at home is the company's quirky governance, where Class B owners have nine votes per share. The effect is that Käärmann has a tight grip on the company despite owning less than 20% of the tradable Class A stock, according to LSEG data. The alternative to hopping across the pond would be to get rid of some of the CEO's special rights, which could in turn smooth Wise's entry into Britain's main stock benchmark, the FTSE 100 Index (.FTSE), opens new tab. That would boost liquidity to U.S. levels: LSEG research, opens new tab found that, relative to the volume of companies' tradable shares, FTSE 100 trading levels were slightly higher than in the S&P 500 Index (.SPX), opens new tab in 2022. Nor is the United States Wise's biggest geography, as it was for other listing switchers like CRH and Ferguson Enterprises. For Käärmann's company, the American market comes third after Europe and Asia, making up 20% of group revenue. As for brand awareness, switching trading venue seems like a strange way to gain publicity compared with a marketing campaign. Moving the listing also brings possible downside. Wise trades at 29 times consensus 2027 earnings – beating Remitly, Block, PayPal and others. Other metrics tell the same story: there's no evidence of a valuation penalty because of the company's UK trading venue. That means Käärmann has much to lose if the company ends up as one of the many 'orphaned' pond-hoppers, which switch listing but never quite catch fire in the U.S. market. Research by think tank New Financial earlier this year found that just 44% of the 16 European companies that had moved across the Atlantic subsequently beat the performance of their home continent. The one consolidation is that this doesn't seem to be about extra CEO pay: Käärmann, as a major shareholder, has taken a roughly 200,000-pound ($270,000) cash salary in recent years, which is tiny compared to most bosses. There are no plans to raise that, according to a person familiar with the matter. But for investors, Wise's shift looks like a poor financial trade-off. Follow Karen Kwok on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Payments giant plots primary listing switch from London to New York
Financial tech giant Wise has become the latest business to announce plans to switch its primary listing from London to New York. The money transfer platform told investors on Thursday the move would boost trading liquidity in shares, enlarge its investor base, and accelerate growth in the United States. Wise will retain a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, where it debuted four years ago in what was the first direct listing in the Square Mile's history. However, relocating its main listing to Wall Street would represent another significant blow to the London markets, which has suffered an exodus of companies in recent years. Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment and construction materials supplier CRH both changed their primary listing to the US. Ashtead Group declared its intention last December to do the same, while drugs giant Indivior revealed on Monday that it would delist from the LSE and keep its primary listing on the Nasdaq. In addition, London has struggled to attract initial public offerings, with just five new listings in the first quarter of 2025 and £74.5million in proceeds raised. Kristo Käärmann, co-founder and chief executive of Wise, said: 'We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our owners. 'These include helping us drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world's deepest and most liquid capital market.' Käärmann started Wise in 2011 with fellow Estonian national Taavet Hinrikus after the duo became frustrated with the costs of sending cash to their home country. The company's financial backers have included Sir Richard Branson, venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz, and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel. Wise will ask shareholders to vote in the coming weeks on switching the firm's primary listing. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, remarked: 'The UK stock market is like a boxer determined to keep going in a gruelling fight. 'While the FTSE 100's share price performance might have beaten the main US indices this year, the broader UK stock market continues to take a succession of blows to the head from a reputational perspective. 'Takeovers are coming thick and fast, IPOs remain scarce, and more companies are looking Stateside for their main stock listing in hope of a higher valuation.' Wise further revealed on Thursday that its underlying pre-tax profits increased by 17 per cent to £282.1million in the year ending March. Revenue rose by 15 per cent to £1.2billion, supported by higher interest rates and usage of the Wise account, and active customer numbers growing by 21 per cent to 15.6 million. Wise shares soared 12.2 per cent to £12.18 on Thursday morning, up more than half from their £8 IPO price.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Stock exchange dealt another blow as £12bn fintech ditches main London listing
The online payments company Wise has said it will move its main share listing to the US, in the latest blow to London's beleaguered stock market. Wise, which is one of the biggest financial technology businesses in the country and has been listed in London since 2021, said on Thursday that it now intends to dual list its shares in the US and the UK in an attempt to attract more investors and boost its value. The company's chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, said moving its main listing would help 'drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world's deepest and most liquid capital market. 'A dual listing would also enable us to continue serving our UK-based owners effectively, as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK. The UK is home to some of the best talent in the world in financial services and technology, and we will continue to invest in our presence here to fuel our UK and global growth,' he said. It represents yet another setback for London's stock market, as a string of high-profile companies have defected to New York in search of better liquidity, higher valuations and access to bigger investors. Last year the construction equipment rental company Ashtead announced it would move its primary listing to the US, following companies such as the gambling group Flutter Entertainment and the building materials provider CRH. Earlier this week the drugmaker Indivior said it planned to cancel the secondary listing it had retained in London after switching its main stock listing to the US last year. Also this week the metal investment company Cobalt Holdings scrapped its move to list in London, which was expected to have raised about $230m. Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, joined the stock market in 2021 at a valuation of £8.75bn, making it the biggest ever listing of a UK tech company. The shares rose 10% on Thursday morning to value the company at more than £12bn Its decision to pivot to the US also marks another setback for London as a venue for tech businesses. In 2023 the chip designer Arm Holdings, which is headquartered in Cambridge, also decided to go public in New York rather than London. Wise will call a shareholder meeting for investors to vote on the proposal in the coming weeks. It argued that moving its primary listing could provide a possible pathway to inclusion in major US share indices, which could improve liquidity and demand for Wise shares. Matt Britzman, an equity analyst at the broker Hargreaves Lansdown, noted the decision to move the primary listing away from London created an obstacle for the company to join the FTSE 100, Britain's blue-chip share index. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'Keeping a presence in London makes sense, but it does little to sugarcoat the fact that yet another London-listed tech firm is looking across the Atlantic for better valuations – a story that's becoming all too familiar,' he said. A fifth of Wise employees are based in the UK and the company has said it plans to continue hiring and investing in the country. Wise was founded by Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in 2011, and has since grown rapidly as it has taken market share from big banks by offering a cheaper money transfer service to individuals and small businesses. Alongside the announcement, the company also reported a 15% rise in revenue for its 2025 financial year to £1.2bn, with profit before tax up 17% to £564.8m.
Finextra
4 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Wise to move primary listing to the US
Money transfer behemoth Wise is to move its primary listing to the United States, in a fresh blow to the London Stock Exchange. 0 In its full-year results statement, Wise says the plan for a dual listing in the US and UK will help the firm to grow its business in the US market and deliver greaterr awareness and investment benefits. Wise first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 at a valuation of £8 billion. It is now valued at £11.07 billion, according to LSEG data. The year's results show a continuation of strong growth, with transaction volumes, customer numbers, revenue, profits and instant payments are all on an upward curve. As a global business, the firm believes that the switch of its primary listing to the US will expand the pool of investors able to invest in Wise, in particular US domestic institutional and retail investors. It will also significantly enhance its profile among potential customers, including a pool of 4000 US banks that could benefit from an integration with the firm's tech infrastructure via Wise Platform. Kristo Käärmann, co-founder and CEO of Wise says: "We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our Owners. These include helping us drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world's deepest and most liquid capital market. "A dual listing would also enable us to continue serving our UK-based Owners effectively, as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK. The UK is home to some of the best talent in the world in financial services and technology, and we will continue to invest in our presence here to fuel our UK and global growth.'
