Fintech/News/ Wise confirms plans for London float via direct listing It’s the first direct listing of a tech company in London. By Isabel Woodford 17 June 2021 \Fintech Insurtech in 2023: Where the sector’s going and why it's ripe for expansion By Kirstie Pickering 3 February 2023 Fintech/News/ Wise confirms plans for London float via direct listing It’s the first direct listing of a tech company in London. By Isabel Woodford 17 June 2021 Wise (previously TransferWise), one of the UK’s top fintechs, confirmed Thursday that it will go public via a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange. It’s the first direct listing of a tech company in London. The company said that “in contrast to a traditional initial public offering, a direct listing is a fairer, cheaper and more transparent way for Wise to broaden its ownership, in support of its mission to move money around the world faster, cheaper and more conveniently.” Founded in 2010, Wise says it has been profitable since 2017. Revenue was £421m for the financial year of 2021, and it now claims to have 10m customers using its money transfer service. The announcement comes as London tries to woo some of Europe’s growing stable of unicorns to list in the capital instead of heading to the US. Deliveroo’s rocky debut has cast a pall over that plan. Wise’s most recent funding round valued the company at $5bn. The company has not yet provided any further guidance on pricing for its listing. That will be determined through an opening auction when it goes public in the coming weeks. Isabel Woodford is Sifted’s fintech correspondent. She tweets from @i_woodford and coauthors our new fintech-focused newsletter. Sign up here. Related Articles Fintech founders can’t lose the super app race By Luke Massie Click here to read more Starling’s eight powerplayers: Behind the scenes at Anne Boden’s bank By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more Neobanks’ biggest challenge isn’t growth. It’s fraud By Isabel Woodford and Amy O'Brien Click here to read more “Being an entrepreneur gives me a public voice” – Bookclub with Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling bank By Chris Sisserian Click here to read more Most Read 1 \Startup Life Tech Nation shutting down as UK government controversially pulls key funding 2 \Fintech Monzo revenues surge more than twofold, putting it on track for 2023 profitability 3 \Consumer Glovo lays off 6% of staff following fresh fine from Spanish government 4 \Startup Life How we grew our team 5x without spending £1 on recruitment 5 \Venture Capital France plans to use the startup downturn to come out on top in Europe
Starling’s eight powerplayers: Behind the scenes at Anne Boden’s bank By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more
Neobanks’ biggest challenge isn’t growth. It’s fraud By Isabel Woodford and Amy O'Brien Click here to read more
“Being an entrepreneur gives me a public voice” – Bookclub with Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling bank By Chris Sisserian Click here to read more