(Bloomberg) -- Revolut boss Nik Storonsky would still prefer to float his fintech company in the US, saying that markets in the UK can’t compare.
“I just don’t understand how the product which is being provided by the UK can compete with the product provided by the US,” Storonsky said in a podcast interview with Harry Stebbings, the founder of 20VC, this week, adding the UK market is less liquid and more expensive because of stamp duty imposed on share trades.
“If I get 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,” Storonsky added.
Revolut, one of Europe’s biggest fintech companies, has grown to a $45 billion valuation and is one of the hottest IPO prospects in the region, though a listing isn’t imminent following a secondary share sale that allowed employees to cash in their holdings earlier this year.
If UK-headquartered Revolut does shun the London Stock Exchange, it would be a blow to its local market, which has seen a steep decline in IPOs and a number of companies leaving despite renewed government efforts to make it more attractive. Last week, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV became the latest to say it’s giving up its London listing owing to the low liquidity of its shares.
Storonsky co-founded Revolut as a foreign currency card with Vlad Yatsenko in 2015. He said if he were to start the fintech today, it would be in the US. He added that he sees Nubank, the Brazilian fintech with 100 million customers, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as his competition.
Last month, Storonsky hinted at making a fresh bid for a US banking license. The digital finance giant received its UK bank license in July, three years after it first submitted its application.
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