Zilch leaning towards London IPO as UK fintech calls in bankers
UK fintech Zilch is leaning towards a public debut on the London Stock Exchange as it kickstarts plans for a potential $2bn listing as soon as next year.
The payments firm, founded in London in 2018, views London as the favoured venue for a listing, likely to take place in the second half of 2027 or early 2028, according to insiders.
New York and Europe are also being weighed as potential options, the people said, adding that conversations with bankers are set to begin over the coming weeks.
Zilch counts Goldman Sachs, Deutche Bank and the venture capital arms of both the Daily Mail and Ebay among its investors. Chief executive Philip Belamant told City AM last year the firm had maintained a $2bn price tag in its 2025 £134m funding round, the last time the company raised money.
Any valuation is yet to be determined but one insider said the $2bn price tag had been “well-earned”.
In its latest financial year, the firm recorded a £10.5m loss, though this was a 79 per cent reduction on the previous year. Revenue for year ending March 2025 surged 93 per cent to £110.3m. Zilch is set to report its latest earnings in the next few weeks.
Zilch’s debut would be a boost to the London Stock Exchange after a barren few years for new IPOs. The only listing of size so far this year has been that of the Uzbek National INvestment Fund, UzNIF. Airtel Money, the African fintech firm, is also set to list in the coming weeks.
The Financial Times first reported the news that Zilch had begun discussions with bankers.
Zilch to post earnings boost in coming weeks
Belamant has been bullish on the firm’s ambitions to list but has warned that London needed to do more to incentivise new listings.
Back in 2024, he cast doubt on whether London would be the IPO destination of choice and warned the firm wanted to see “pension funds investing in high-growth British companies” and “incentives for retail investors to buy and hold British stocks.”
“If this all happens, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to list on the LSE… if it doesn’t happen then we have to take the appropriate decision and that might be to go somewhere else,” he said.
City AM previously reported insiders at the company had sought to re-position the company’s branding from a buy now, pay later firm after rival Klarna plunged in value following its IPO last September.
A spokesperson for Zilch said: “After a transformative 12 months for the business, we are fully focused on executing our strategy which is delivering impressive growth, with all strategic options remaining open.”