Some of Revolut’s early investors could be in line for a sizeable payday should the fintech exit at its current valuation. Some of the fintech’s seed and Series A backers have seen the paper value (a term used to describe the worth of holdings in private companies, which can only be turned into actual money at the point of an exit) of their investments soar into the billions. Three of its early investors are currently sitting on stakes worth more than $2bn.
That’s according to a Sifted analysis of Beauhurst and PitchBook data looking at the fintech’s valuation from its seed and Series A days in 2016 and the $45bn valuation it got this summer.
Investors such as Coatue, D1 Capital Partners and Tiger Global were involved in the round in August, which saw employees sell off shares in the company at reportedly $865.42 per share. It also topped off a banner summer for Revolut, which posted record profits for the year covering 2023 and obtained its long-awaited UK banking licence in July.
Getting those two milestones in the bag has heightened talk of Revolut’s potential debut as a publicly traded company. As expectations rise of a possible IPO, Sifted wanted to do the maths and work out how much some of its early investors stand to gain from an exit. As previously reported, Revolut’s early crowdfunders saw a 40k% increase in investment value.
The early investors
In 2016, VCs including UK-based Balderton Capital, Germany’s Point Nine and Robinhood-backer Ribbit Capital invested £6.9m into Revolut at a £42m valuation ($55.6m converted at historical rates); one Revolut share was valued at $2.17 at the time of the round’s closing, according to estimated data from PitchBook.
Sifted compiled the total share counts and the paper value of each stake from back then using Beauhurst and PitchBook data, and calculated the estimated current paper value of each stake based on Revolut’s most recent share price of $865.42. A source close to Revolut said the share prices were “broadly accurate”.
Sifted also contacted all of the investors named in this list to confirm the share counts and estimated values before publication.
Sifted’s calculations aren’t an exact science, as investors have bought and sold shares in subsequent rounds at different valuations; The current share counts and estimated valuations are based on Revolut’s Companies House filings via Beauhurst for each investor.
Here are all the big (on paper) winners:
Balderton Capital
Who they are: Balderton Capital is a London-based VC firm that’s previously backed Depop, GoCardless and Wayve; in August, the firm raised $1.3bn across two funds to back European startups.
Stake in Revolut: The VC firm led both Revolut’s seed and Series A investments, with a stake of more than 5m shares worth just under £11m by the end of 2016. (Balderton later took part in Revolut’s $66m Series B led by Index Ventures.)
The VC firm currently holds 5,653,960 shares at a current paper value of $4.89bn . Balderton declined to comment on its 2016 stake in Revolut and didn’t respond to a query on its 2024 holdings by press time.
Index Ventures
Who they are: Index Ventures is a San Francisco- and London-based VC firm with bets on startups including German AI unicorn DeepL and HR unicorn Personio. The firm raised $2.3bn in new funds earlier in 2024, including a $1.5bn growth fund.
Stake in Revolut: Index had 779,037 shares across four funds in 2016. At Revolut’s 2016 Series A share price the stake would have been worth $1,692,893. Index Ventures declined to comment on Sifted’s findings.
As of 2024 Index Ventures holds 4,938,128 shares, which, at Revolut’s current valuation, would be worth an estimated $4,273,554,733. Index Ventures didn’t respond to Sifted’s request for comment on the 2024 figures by press time.
Ribbit Capital
Who they are: Ribbit Capital is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm that has invested in companies including crypto exchange Coinbase, open banking fintech Plaid and insurtech Alan.
Stake in Revolut: Ribbit amassed 1,290,437 shares worth $2.8m as part of Revolut’s Series A. The US VC firm, which later took part in the fintech’s Series B, C and D rounds, now holds 3,121,735 shares worth an estimated $2.7bn. Ribbit did not respond to Sifted’s multiple requests for comment on the findings by press time.
Point Nine
Who they are: Point Nine is a Berlin-based early-stage fund that invests in B2B SaaS and marketplaces. The firm invested in the seed rounds of food delivery company Delivery Hero, AI coding startup Poolside and customer support platform Zendesk. Point Nine first bought into Revolut during its Series A round.
Stake in Revolut: Point Nine had 1,082,473 shares through four funds in 2016. At Revolut’s 2016 Series A share price, the stake would have been worth some $2,348,965. Point Nine declined to comment to Sifted about the findings. Point Nine currently holds 1,016,873 shares worth an estimated $880,022,231. Point Nine didn’t respond to Sifted’s request for comment on the 2024 figure by press time.
Seedcamp
Who they are: London headquartered Seedcamp is a seed firm that’s invested in the likes of insurance startup Wefox, money transfer company Wise and robotic automation software company UiPath (the latter two of which are now public). Some of those bets have helped Seedcamp historically have top-performing funds, as Sifted reported last year.
Stake in Revolut: Seedcamp had 361,403 shares in Revolut across three funds in 2016. At Revolut’s 2016 Series A share price, the stake would have been worth $784,243. Seedcamp currently holds 239,580 shares, worth an estimated $207,337,323. Seedcamp did not respond to Sifted’s request for comment on the findings by press time.
Venrex
Who they are: Venrex is a London- and NYC-based investment firm specialising in pre-seed and seed investments. It was one of the first investors in beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury, HR platform Rippling and takeaway company Just Eat.
Stake in Revolut: Venrex was one of Revolut’s first institutional investors alongside Balderton and Seedcamp in the fintech’s seed and Series A rounds. By the close of 2016, Venrex held 386,617 shares in the company worth $838.96k. As of Revolut’s most recent filings, Venrex holds 216,900 shares across three different holdings worth approximately $188m at Revolut’s current price per share.
Venrex confirmed the number of shares it held in 2016; it declined to comment on its current value.
Build Collective
Who they are: Formerly Future Shape, Build Collective is the investment firm of iPod inventor Tony Fadell. The firm also provides coaching for engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists.
Stake in Revolut: Build Collective owned 118,934 shares in 2016. At Revolut’s 2016 Series A share price, the stake would have been worth $258,086. Build Collective confirmed the accuracy of the calculations to Sifted based on what the fund invested in 2016. Build Collective currently holds 124,861 shares worth an estimated $108,057,206. Build Collective didn’t respond to Sifted’s request for comment on the latter figures by press time.
Digital Space Ventures
Who they are: Digital Space Ventures is a Luxembourg-based VC firm investing in early-stage fintechs. It’s made investments into neobank Tandem and international money transfer fintech Paysend.
Stake in Revolut: Digital Space Ventures acquired 59,467 shares in Revolut in 2016 that were worth $129k as its price per share at Series A. Sifted calculations indicate its stake has since soared to just under $51.5m. Digital Space Ventures responded to Sifted’s request for comment but didn’t directly comment on the findings.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/revolut-investor-early-index/
