Wise, a London-based remittance firm, has begun trading on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) main market through a direct listing.

According to a statement by the LSE, this marks the first direct listing of a technology company in its history.

Reuters reported that Wire’s shares opened at 800 pence and closed at 880 pence, valuing the company at US$11 billion (8.75 billion pounds).

With this valuation, which is well above the US$6 – US$7 billion market expectations from earlier this year, Wise has emerged as London’s biggest tech company by market capitalisation.

Co-founded by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann in 2011 under its original name TransferWise, Wise has over 10 million people and businesses move more than £5 billion across borders every month using its platform.

According to Wise, the firm has been profitable since 2017. In FY2021, Wise moved £54 billion across borders for 6 million customers, representing a volume CAGR of 42% between FY2019 and FY2021.

Revenues grew at a CAGR of 54% over the same period, reaching £421 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached £109m.

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise, commented on the listing,

“Our listing is incredibly exciting, and lots of hard work from many people has made it a reality. But, it’s important to remember that we’re still very early on in our journey.

 

We’re currently saving customers around £1 billion a year in these hidden fees. The £149 billion that’s still to go remains our focus.”

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash