With a funding round that more than tripled its value to £4.2bn, digital bank Revolut has become the UK's most valuable financial technology startup. The valuation has placed it ahead of its rival bank Monzo, which was valued at £2bn last year. It has also surpassed small business lender OakNorth, which previously held the top spot at £2.2bn.
Headquartered in London, Revolut announced it had raised £387m from a group of investors led by the US fund Technology Crossover Ventures, ending months of speculation around the deal. It should be known that this very company has been a vocal backer of major leagues like Airbnb, Netflix and Spotify. With the cash flow, Revolut is now worth more than triple its previous valuation of £1.3bn in spring 2018. It has expanded from its head office in Canary Wharf, into UK current accounts, business banking, crypto currency and stock trading, and has 10 million customers worldwide.
It employs about 2,000 staff across 23 global offices, 500 of whom are based in Canary Wharf. Revolut walked into controversy in the past over its treatment of staff, and the founder Russian-born Nik Storonsky's alleged Kremlin connections.
Speaking on the fresh bout of funding, Storonsky said, “Going forward, our focus is on rolling out operations in Europe, increasing the number of people who use Revolut as their daily account, and striving towards profitability. TCV has a long history of backing founders who are changing their industries on a global scale, so we are excited to partner with them as we prepare for the next stage of our journey.”
