Revolution, the most valuable Fintech company in the United Kingdom, has selected Paris as its new European headquarters, announcing an investment of € 1 billion in France in the next three years as part of its continuous European expansion.
The London -based digital bank confirmed that it is requesting a French banking license and will make the French capital its operational base for Western Europe, creating around 200 new jobs, in addition to the 300 employees already used in Paris.
The measure marks one of the largest foreign investments in the financial sector of France in a decade and French officials are welcome as a coup d’etat for Paris. Éric Lombard, France Minister of Finance, said the decision strengthened “the position of Paris as the main financial center in Europe.”
While Revolution insists that its United Kingdom operations will not be affected, the decision has caused a renewed debate about the competitiveness after Brexit in London. With Revolution accommodating its global headquarters in London and affirming that “jobs will not be relocated” from the United Kingdom, the company emphasized its “split in the United Kingdom market.”
However, the moment of the announcement has intensified the concerns in the Square and Westminster Mile, where there is a growing anxiety that the capital is losing land to the world financial centers such as New York, Amsterdam and now Paris.
Founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolution has cultivated a fencing power of $ 45 billion, which offers services that include cross -border payments, currency exchange and cryptocurrency department. The company now has 55 million users, with more than 40 million in Europe, and uses about 10,000 people, including 1,300 in the United Kingdom.
Their earnings before taxes rose to £ 1.1 billion last year, and the company has the ambition to reach 100 million customers worldwide.
With its ongoing French bank license and Lithuanian bank permits that already allow operations throughout the EU, Revolution focuses on expanding its banking services in Europe. He also recently obtained a long -awaited bank of the United Kingdom, racing the way for a launch of the United Kingdom retail bank.
The announcement adds more weight to the speculation that Revolution will seek a stock market list in the United States, a movement that would be seen as a great blow to the ambitions of London’s Opi, especially given the premieres of Ntetech of Revolution.
Industry observers fear that if the new starting company of Great Britain chooses to float in New York, it could deter rapidly growing technology companies in the London Stock Exchange, regardless of the government of the United Kingdom capital markets.
The expansion of Paris of Revolution is part of a broader trend after the Brexit of financial services companies that increase their European footprints to retain perfect access to EU markets. The company emphasized that London is still essential for its strategy, but it is likely that the investment and creation scale in France will increase its eyebrows.
As Great Britain’s economic policy formulators consider how to retain and attract global capital and talent, Revolution’s decision serves as a timely reminder of high -risk competence between financial centers and the delicate balance law between global ambitions and national priorities.
Jamie Young
Jamie is a senior reporter of Business Matters, who brings more than a decade of experience in commercial reports of the United Kingdom. Jamie has a business administration title and participates regularly in conferences and industry workshops. When he does not inform about the last business development, Jamie is passionate about the mentoring of promising journalists and businessmen to inspire the next generation of business leaders.
