Revolut’s place as UK’s top fintech firm at risk after Schroders writedown

theguardian.com:

Revolut’s position as the UK’s most valuable fintech company is under threat, after a writedown by one of its investors suggested almost $15bn (£12bn) could be wiped off the value of the firm.

A UK trust run by the asset manager Schroders suggested the value of its stake in Revolut has plunged by 46% over the past year, having estimated in its annual report that the holding was worth only £5.4m as of December, down from £10.1m a year earlier.

It comes only 18 months after Schroders ploughed £9.9m into the firm as part of a big funding round for Revolut, which the asset manager lauded as an “ambitious neobank”, in the summer of 2021.

The revaluation suggests that the London-headquartered Revolut – which became the UK’s most valuable fintech firm after reaching a $33bn valuation on the back of that funding round – could now be worth only $18bn.

It marks the second cut to Revolut’s valuation by a top investor in recent months, after similar moves by the US-based investor TriplePoint. The writedown by TriplePoint’s venture growth fund was far shallower, having estimated that the stake had lost about 15% of its worth, dropping from $10.1m to $8.6m, according to reports. That would imply a drop in Revolut’s overall valuation to $28bn.

However, the cuts will raise concerns about investors’ estimation over the real worth of Revolut, which has been praised as a high-growth success story by leading UK politicians including the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

Revolut has been struggling to repair its reputation, having been criticised for the late filing of accounts, EU regulatory breaches and corporate culture. Bosses are also still waiting for UK approval of its banking licence, more than two years on since lodging its application.

Revolut,