‘We prefer the US’: Revolut’s Storonksy confirms plan for dual US-UK listing
Revolut founder Nik Storonsky has confirmed that the bank is exploring a dual listing in New York and London, adding that he “prefers” the US market.
The chief executive of the UK’s biggest fintech said he could not afford to miss out on a US listing, because the American market offers better upsides than London, where the firm was founded.
“It’s a larger market. It includes institutional investors, hedge funds, fund managers and a considerable number of individual investors.
“So we have the choice between selling in a small market with few buyers, or in a gigantic market with a huge number of buyers who will compete fiercely for our shares. Therefore, yes, we prefer the United States,” he told French newspaper Les Echos.
Storonsky’s intervention is the latest in a number of broadsides against the UK’s capital markets, as Revolut pursues an initial public offering (IPO) which could value it at more than $100bn.
Storonsky blasts ‘extreme bureaucracy’
A dual listing in London would be a huge boost to the UK’s capital markets, coming after suggestions that Revolut could swerve Britain altogether.
In 2024, the banking boss said that it was “not rational” for the fintech to list in London, arguing that the UK’s market “can’t compete” with the liquidity offered by the US.
He said: “If you look at trading in the UK, you always pay a stamp duty tax which is 0.5 per cent. I just don’t understand how the product which is being provided by the UK can compete with the product provided by the US.
“If I get a better product from the UK, I’ll list in the UK, but so far if you just compare these products, one is far ahead than the other.”
In March, Revolut was granted a UK banking license after a four-year-long dance with regulators.
Storonsky has blasted Britain’s “extreme bureaucracy” in the UK, citing “extra cautious” regulation as a hurdle in obtaining the licence.
The Revolut chief’s comments come as a number of publicly-listed giants shift towards the US to access a wider pool of investors.
London-founded fintech Wise has said that it plans to switch its primary listing to the US to secure its access to “the world’s deepest and most liquid capital market”.
Last year, Cambridge-based pharmaceuticals giant Astrazeneca upgraded its US listing to be on a par with its status on the FTSE 100, a move commentators described as a “knock-back for London”.