Zilch, the consumer lender which has become one of Britain’s fastest-growing fintech companies, is in talks about a share sale to raise about £150m in what could be its final such capital-raising before it goes public.
Sky News has learnt that eBay-backed Zilch, which was founded in 2018, is working with advisers at Citi on an equity-raise expected to value it a premium to the £1.5bn valuation it secured in its last funding round.
City insiders said on Tuesday that the company, which has about 4m customers, had been approached by a string of prospective new investors who wanted exposure to its rapid growth as it prepares to float on a major stock market.
Many of its existing investors, which include Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital, are also said to be keen to participate in the share sale.
Philip Belamant, Zilch’s chief executive, has been actively engaged in talks with regulators and policymakers about reforms to London’s listings regime amid growing concerns about the relative attractiveness of UK public markets.
He was among tech entrepreneurs who held talks last week with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, about this agenda.
Earlier this year Mr Belamant warned that Zilch could float outside the UK without meaningful efforts to incentivise “retail investors to buy and hold British stocks”.
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London and New York are expected to compete for the listing during the next 12 months.
One source close to the company said it was “seeing strong interest from global investors”.
During the summer Zilch announced that it was on course to record $130m in annual revenues, with sales and income on track to nearly double compared to the numbers disclosed in its March 2024 accounts.
A spokesman said it had recently reported its first full quarter of profitability.
Sky News revealed in September that Mark Wilson, the former boss of Aviva and Asian insurance company AIA, was joining the board of Zilch.
The appointment was seen as a coup for the company, given that Mr Wilson’s other current board seats include a directorship at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.
Zilch secured authorisation from the City watchdog in 2020 and now offers customers a digital debit Mastercard earning up to 5% of spending in rewards.
In the same app, customers can switch to a credit card, allowing customers to spread repayments with zero interest over six weeks or three months, enabling them to build their credit record.
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The company differentiates itself from other Buy Now Pay Later companies because it is already regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It claims to have saved customers more than £500m in fees and interest since its launch.
In total, Zilch has raised close to £400m in equity and debt since it was founded.
The company employs around 250 people and is based in London.
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Zilch declined to comment on Tuesday.
