Revolut chair not ready to commit to London IPO

However, Martin Gilbert appreciated pending changes to the rules for listing on the U.K. market

Revolut’s chair is not ready to commit to an IPO in London.

Speaking to the Financial Times on Tuesday, however, Martin Gilbert appreciated pending changes to the rules for listing on the U.K. market.

All the moves regulators are making are good, they are allowing founder-led firms like Revolut to list here rather than just have no choice, Gilbert said. But again let’s see how it all pans out, the proof will definitely be what happens in the future.

He added that Revolut was at least a year away from an IPO, with the firm planning to “keep an open mind” on where that listing would happen.

The report notes his comments mark a change from the views expressed by Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky, who has ruled out an IPO in London. Earlier this year, the firm’s U.K. CEO, Francesca Carlesi, had hinted a London listing was still possible.

The U.K. is our home and is also one where a lot of our investors come from, Carlesi said. We know that firms are always better off to list where their biggest market is.

But she had added that going public was not her immediate focus. Instead Carlesi said she wants to help Revolut deal with issues with accounts, controls management and culture as it embarked on its third year of trying to get a U.K. banking license.

Gilbert’s interview came the same day that Revolut released its annual report for 2023, showing its revenues growing by 95%: from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $2.2 billion last year.

Additionally, Revolut’s profit before tax came to a record $545 million, with the firm signing 12 million new customers last year — the FinTech’s third profitable year — bringing its customer base to 45 million as of last month.