Starling Bank’s finance chief has confirmed the company is considering a US listing in a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hopes for a fintech-led revival of the London market.
Declan Ferguson, Starling’s chief financial officer, said the fintech had not yet formed a “concrete view” on which market would be most suitable for its listing.
The bank currently has UK sites in Southampton, Cardiff, Manchester and London.
Ferguson told the Financial Times that any decision was still “in flux”, and the company was not in a hurry to go public.
This contrasts sharply with comments made last year by Starling’s former interim chief, John Mountain, who said the bank was “very committed” to a London listing, describing the City as a “natural home”.
Last year, the digital bank seemed to be preparing for an IPO when it started recruiting for a London-based role to work with senior management to “execute a successful IPO or other capital event”, as reported by City AM.
The job description also mentioned supporting the business in its steps towards considering IPO readiness.
Mr Ferguson’s comments come as Rachel Reeves urgently tries to persuade fintechs to list on the London Market.
Last week, the Chancellor met with executives from top British digital lenders, where they urged her to offer incentives for a City listing.
These could include easing burdens by allowing investors in newly listed companies to benefit from stamp duty holidays or capital gains tax cuts.
In a significant setback for the London Stock Exchange, Wise, a money transfer company, abandoned its primary listing in favour of relocating to the US in June.
The UK-headquartered firm stated it would “provide a potential pathway to inclusion in a major US indices, further enhancing liquidity and demand for Wise shares”.
This development occurred shortly after Ms Reeves pledged to make the UK “one of the best places in the world for fintechs to start up, scale up and to list”.
Starling Bank witnessed a sharp fall in profits to £223m in 2024, a decrease from £301m the previous year.
The drop was attributed to soaring operating costs, which climbed to £403m from £332m, despite a modest increase in revenue from £682m to £714m.
Additionally, the bank faced a £29m penalty imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year, following the regulator’s criticism of the bank’s “shockingly lax” approach to “tackle financial crime”.
