- According to Sky News, DE Shaw is in talks to lead a Monzo funding round of at least £300 million.
- The talks point to a pre-money valuation of around £7 billion, lower than the £8-10 billion range previously discussed with Nubank.
- Monzo was last valued at £4.5 billion in October 2024 and reported £1.7 billion in revenue for the year ended March 2026.
Nu Holdings shares fell 10% on 28th September after reports that Nubank’s owner was in talks to acquire Monzo for as much as £10 billion. Sky News reports now that a US hedge fund is in discussions to lead a new capital raise for the London bank at a lower valuation.
According to the report, DE Shaw & Co is leading a Monzo fundraising of at least £300 million in the coming weeks. Sources told Sky the total could reach £500 million, which would presumably value Monzo at around £7 billion pre-money.
The terms are not yet final, and other investors are also in talks with the bank.
What about valuation?
A takeover would value the entire bank, while a minority funding round would value only part of it. That said, the valuation we’re looking at is lower than what was discussed with Nubank.
Monzo was last valued at £4.5 billion in an employee share sale in October 2024. We also reported on 28 September that Monzo had engaged Morgan Stanley and Qatalyst. Discussions with Advent, TPG and CVC around a potential sale of up to a 15% stake at £8 billion subsequently fell through. The FT later reported that Monzo was looking at a funding round at around £7.5 billion, which Tech Funding News covered on 6 November.
Sky’s £7 billion valuation is pre-money. TFN calculates that adding £300-£500 million would take the post-money valuation to around £7.3-7.5 billion. That’s about 56% up from the 2024 valuation.
Valuation multiples are very high. For the year ended March 31, 2026, Monzo reported revenue of £1.7 billion and adjusted pre-tax profit of £172.6 million in its annual report. At a £7 billion valuation, Monzo would be 80x on a statutory profit basis and 41x on an adjusted profit basis.
What it could mean for Monzo’s IPO plans
DE Shaw manages $125 billion and has a stake in Anthropic. The same report also notes that DE Shaw has a history of backing companies with fairly imminent listing plans, which would make a Monzo IPO very plausible.
Given Monzo’s international investor base, a US listing is also on the table. Wise, for example, moved its primary listing to the US in 2026. Morgan Stanley was expected to lead a London IPO.
Sky’s report makes no link between the Monzo funding discussions and this move. There is some overlap, though, in that a Monzo co-founder, Tom Blomfield, has joined the AI lab where Monzo’s likely lead investor has an interest.
A funding round of around £7 billion would be less than the £8 billion Monzo originally sought from buyout firms. The next hurdle would then be the IPO. Will public investors in London or New York be happy to accept a similar multiple for a bank generating £87.3 million in profit?
