Revolut’s cofounder and CEO Nik Storonsky is preparing to turn part of his multibillion-dollar paper wealth into cold hard cash as part of the U.K. fintech’s upcoming secondary share sale.
According to the Financial Times, the banking app is working on a $500 million share sale that will see existing shareholders, including employees, realize some of their gains at an expected valuation of over $40 billion.
That price tag would make Revolut by far Europe’s most valuable private company, although the final size of the sale and valuation are still in flux.
Storonsky is reportedly planning to cash in tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Sky News, with other board members also considering taking part.
This secondary sale will be closely monitored as Revolut has become the crown jewel of the U.K.’s fintech sector, and the decision of a CEO and board members to sell down their stakes can be controversial.
Also contentious is the fact that the round is limited to current Revolut employees only, with former employees restricted from selling down their stakes.
Just last week, Revolut revealed that it had finally swung into profit, generating £438 million ($553 million) in revenues that doubled to £1.8 billion ($2.27 billion).
Storonsky said the company’s “exceptional financial performance” had been driven by a 46% jump in customers, bringing the company’s total to 38 million customers across the now 38 countries in which it operates.
Revolut’s last secondary share sale was in 2021, when current employees were allowed to sell up to 20% of their stakes. In total, over $100 million was sold.
The company is still working on securing a U.K. banking license despite repeatedly claiming over the last four years that it would become an official bank “any day now.”
Without a banking license, Revolut can’t harness its U.K. customer deposits to offer complex lending products, nor can it boast of having the same customer deposit protections as official banks.
Representatives at Revolut declined Fortune’s request for comment.
