Santander-backed Ebury reportedly looking at £2bn valuation in London listing

Cross-border payments platform Ebury, backed by Spanish banking giant Santander, has reportedly held talks with banks as it pursues a London listing at a valuation of up to £2bn.

Bloomberg News reported that the firm was looking to IPO in the capital in 2025, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

They reportedly said Ebury had been interviewing banks that it might later invite for pitches on an IPO, with negotiations ongoing and the details of the listing plan subject to change.

Ebury’s founder and chief executive Juan Lobato said alongside the company’s latest results filing in November that it was exploring a public listing as part of its “big ambitions.”

An Ebury IPO could be a much-needed boost for London’s struggling stock market. The London Stock Exchange has been hit by heavy investor outflows, a slump in big-ticket listings and key players snubbing the bourse in favour of floating in New York.

Just 23 companies listed in London last year. This figure was down from 45 in 2022, which itself was a 62 per cent drop compared with a record 119 listings in 2021.

Ebury is part of Santander’s PagoNxt global payments platform, with the bank striking a £350m deal for a 50.1 per cent majority stake in the firm in November 2019.

Companies House filings show Ebury posted revenues of £204m in the 12 months to 30 April 2023. Its volumes totalled £25.5bn for the financial year.

The last big payments firm that listed in London was CAB Payments, which is currently trading 65 per cent below its initial share price. Chief executive Bhairav Trivedi is due to step down on 26 March.

Ebury declined to comment when approached by City A.M. Santander was approached for comment.