larna's upcoming U.S. first public offering could help unlock a pipeline of British fintech flotations after an unproductive period for new tech listings,
investors, lawyers as well as an executive, reported Reuters.
Klarna’s headquarters from Stockholm are also known for their busy-now pay-later products which earlier this month were filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange. It is also worth mentioning that this is their second attempt at listing in the public sector which came in four years.
In 2021, Klarna also considered its IPO after its valuation rose from $5.5 billion to $45.6 billion in three funding rounds. However, investors soured on tech companies as interest rates rose and the economy stumbled. As a result, investors burst on tech companies as interest rates rose and economics stumbled, leading to Klarna’s cutting its valuation to $6.7 billion in a 2022 fundraising.
The company's IPO would value it at nearly $15 billion and likely be priced in the early days of April. James Wootton, a partner at Linklaters, which helped Wise with its 2021 listing from London, said, “Any successful IPO of a high-profile business in the sector will be a catalyst for others to look again at an IPO as a strategic option for growth and/or liquidity.”
It is also worth mentioning that at its peak in 2021, 101 fintech companies raised $296.86 billion with the help of IPOs from the global stock markets, according to the data received from PitchBook. However, between 2022 and 2024, 86 companies raised $32.76 billion via IPOs.
Tim Levene, the chief exec of Augmentum, the London-listed fintech investment fund, said: “It’s quite clear that the market is looking to Klarna as a bellwether for future fintech IPOs, many of which are in a long pipeline,”. He also added, “We hope that Klarna is the first of many to list, which will prove a positive data point for the rest of the market.”.
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Sources close to the matter said that Monzo and Starling banks and payment companies such as Zilch and Ebury are among the companies that are considering their plans to list themselves in the near future.
Philip Belamant, Zilch’s chief executive, a buy-now pay-latter tool, is currently looking forward to floating in 2026, reported to Reuters “The Klarna IPO will be a significant moment for the fintech sector, and we'll be watching closely," he said, adding that a successful IPO could "set the stage for greater investor confidence in European fintechs going public".
A Spanish payment company which is owned by Banco Santander named Ebury, is gearing up for a London listing by June. Even more so, the company will also be looking for $2.6 billion in funding.
Britain’s Revolut has previously signaled its wish to list itself publicly. A spokesperson representative from Britain’s bank said “Our focus is not on if or when we IPO, but on continuing to expand the business, building new products, and providing better and cheaper services to serve our growing global customer base,”.
Zopa, a company that is HQ in London, has no timeline, yet a spokesperson from the company said “We continue to plan towards an eventual IPO, preferably in the UK, and can be ready in a short time, however, we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions,”.
It is also worth mentioning that the London Stock Exchange has been making overtures to fintech companies which also include Zilch.
