Starling mulls US listing in blow to Rachel Reeves’ fintech push
The finance boss of Starling Bank has confirmed the firm is open to a US listing in a blow to Rachel Reeves’ hopes for a fintech-powered London market revival.
Declan Ferguson, the chief financial officer of Starling, said the fintech had not formed a “concrete view” on which market the neobank would be most suited for.
Ferguson confirmed any decision was still “in flux” as he told the Financial Times the company was not in a rush to float.
This starkly differs from Starling’s former interim chief John Mountain last year declaring the fintech was “very committed” to a London listing, describing the City as a “natural home”.
The digital bank appeared to be laying the groundwork for an IPO last year after it began recruiting for a London-based role to work with senior management to “execute a successful IPO or other capital event”.
The job description also said it would “support the business in its steps towards its consideration of IPO readiness”.
Chancellor banking on fintech floats
Ferguson’s remarks comes as Rachel Reeves makes an urgent play to encourage fintechs to list on the London Market.
The Chancellor met the executives of top British digital lenders last week where bosses encouraged her to provide incentives for a City listing.
This included easing burdens through allowing investors in newly listed companies to benefit from stamp duty holidays or capital gains tax cuts.
The London Stock Exchange suffered a fatal blow in June after money transfer firm Wise ditched its primary listing with a move to the US.
The UK-based business said it would “provide a potential pathway to inclusion in a major US indices, further enhancing liquidity and demand for Wise shares”.
The move came just a month after Reeves to make the UK “one of the best places in the world for fintechs to start up, scale up and to list”.
Starling’s profit tumbled to £223m in 2024, down from £301 the previous year.
This came as operating costs ramped up to £403m, from £332m, helping offset modest revenue growth of £32m to £714m.
The firm was handed a £29m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year after the watchdog slammed its “shockingly lax” failure to “tackle financial crime”.