Zilch boss shrugs off Klarna’s stock loss after fresh funding round
The boss of one of London’s most hotly-anticipated fintech listings has shrugged off the recent stock fall of Klarna after securing a fresh funding round.
Philip Belamant, the chief executive of consumer payments platform Zilch, told City PM “there’s always a bit of downward pressure” when asked whether Klarna’s recent stock tumble raised any concerns over fintech market appetite.
He said point-of-sale companies that were “renting the audience from the merchant” had a weaker relationship with the customer and would need to “build relationships”.
“We don’t necessarily see this as a big drop,” he added, noting the patterns were not unusual post-listing.
Klarna – which Zilch has been viewed as a rival to due to its buy now, pay later routes – popped 15 per cent from its IPO price to $45.82 in its September debut on Wall Street.
But the firm has since tumbled shedding nearly a fifth of its market value to $37.65.
The firm has continued to move at speed its transition to a digital bank, with a batch of new product launches to take on high street lenders. Klarna secured FCA approval for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence – which paves the way for a debit card launch – earlier this year which it said would mark its “next big step” in the UK.
Zilch laying the groundwork
Zilch has long been tipped for a listing, with Belamant – who co-chairs Innovate Finance’s fintech unicorn council – bullish on London as a venue.
Over the last two weeks, the firm has made an application to strike two dormant Zilch subsidiaries off the Companies House register.
When asked whether this was tidying corporate structure ahead of a public offering, Belamant said: “You know the trajectory that we’re on and the course we’re taking… obviously everything has some meaningful step towards that outcome”.
But he said the move did not reflect any short-term action and was “housekeeping to make sure that we have the business in the most optimal state”.
The fintech chief’s remarks follow Zilch landing $176.7m (£134m) in a debt and equity raise, led by KKCG.
Belamant said the firm retains its $2bn valuation, netted in 2022, as the firm targets using the new funding to expand its Intelligent Commerce advertising-tech product.
On the new product, Belamant said: “This is our platform that’s going to bring brands more value and better return on ad spend.”
In its latest financial year, Zilch’s revenue surged 93 per cent to £110.3m, making it the UK’s fastest growing fintech unicorn.