AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- British fintech company Zopa raised US$ 300 million in its latest pre-IPO round, which was led by Softbank.
- The latest fundraising round gave the company a post-money valuation of US$ 1 billion, making it the most recent European fintech firm to achieve unicorn status.
- Zopa plans to go public in Q4 2022 and may potentially choose the London Stock Exchange as its IPO platform.
UK-based lending company and neo bank Zopa is now valued at a whopping US$ 1 billion post-money. It is the latest European fintech company to achieve unicorn status, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).
Neobank is a term used for companies that are virtual or digital banks with no physical branches. Zopa had started off as a peer to peer lending platform before expanding to a digital bank after it received a banking license.
Zopa, which was founded in 2005, now offers credit cards, personal loans, car financing and other services to its customers.
Zopa’s IPO highlights
The fintech company stated this would be its last fundraising round before its planned IPO and that Zopa would likely choose to debut on the London Stock Exchange as it would be a natural fit for the firm.
Zopa’s CEO, Jaidev Janardana, said the company plans to go public in Q4 2022. However, Mr. Janardana also added that the company would not choose to float on the market unless Zopa has shown a consistent profitability track record.
Zopa’s latest pre-IPO capital raising round thus allows the company flexibility to choose when it can publicly list, depending on the stock market environment.
The company received a cash infusion of US$ 300 million from its latest pre-IPO funding round, which was led by Japanese investment bank Softbank’s Vision Fund 2.
Other investors in its latest capital raising round included UAE based asset management company Chimera Capital and its existing investors such as IAG capital’s investment arm IAG Silverstripe, global alternative investment management firm Davidson Kempner, early-stage venture capital fund Northzone and Augmentum Fintech.
One can buy Zopa’s shares once the company sets its IPO issue price, date and finalizes its listing location, as well as its other IPO details.
© 2021 Kalkine Media
Zopa’s financial highlights
The company reported its H1 2021 net operating income (NOI) at £21.9 million. This figure was more than 2x of its NOI from the end of 2020.
Zopa also estimates its 2021 revenue to be over twice the year before. Its run rate stands at £85 million at present, which Zopa projects will increase to £170 million by 2022.
Zopa has also said it is on track to reach profitability by the end of 2021.
The rise in fintech investment
The news comes as the fintech sector received more and more investments this year, boosted by strong customer growth and by changing demographics opting for simpler and easier banking services such as mobile apps and other features.
Germany based neo bank N26 raised US$ 900 million and had a valuation of US$ 9 billion. Whereas UK based fintech company Revolut had raised US$ 800 million and had a valuation of $33 billion earlier this year.
Another UK based digital bank Starling Bank had also raised US$ 376 million on the back of a valuation of US$ 1.9 billion in March this year.
