Fintech startup Clearscore could soon IPO in London, after the company’s CEO dubbed its home market the “natural destination” for a public float.
Founded in 2015, Clearscore provides users with credit scores and affordability reports, while also overseeing an online marketplace where they can search for credit cards, loans and other finance agreements.
In an interview with The Times published on Monday, CEO and cofounder Justin Basini teased that his company could buck a longstanding trend for European startups to travel to the US to go public.
Basini told the paper the UK had a “vibrant” fintech industry, but needed to push through market reforms and do more to get pension funds to invest in the sector if it wanted to create “world-beating” companies.
Asked about issues with scaling up British startups, Basini said UK investors needed to become more comfortable with companies taking time to reach profitability. “The US has always been much more comfortable with that. And therefore, they back those companies which could go global,” he said.
London-based fintech Revolut is said to favour a New York listing, while Monzo’s board has reportedly been wrangling over which side of the Atlantic to go public.
Clearscore almost went private in a proposed £275m merger with credit score rival Experian in 2018, but the move was ultimately blocked by the country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Most recently valued at $700m in 2021, Clearscore has raised more than $200m over the past 10 years. Last month, the company secured £30m in debt financing from HSBC Innovation Banking.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/clearscore-ceo-dubs-london-natural-destination-for-ipo/
