Wise PLC on Thursday said it intends to transfer its primary equity listing to ‘a US stock exchange’ in a further blow to the London stock market.
‘We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our owners,’ said Wise Chief Executive Kristo Kaarmann.
The London-based financial technology company which provides global money transfers said it will maintain a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
In response, shares in Wise rose 9.3% to 1,183.85 pence each in London on Thursday morning for a market value of £12.15 billion.
Wise said the move will expand the pool of investors able to invest in Wise, increase trading liquidity in the shares, provide a pathway towards inclusion in major US stock market indices and help accelerate growth in the US.
‘The US is the world’s largest economy and the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today,’ the company said in a statement.
Wise said its confidence in UK talent and tech ecosystem remains ‘undimmed’, and it plans to continue hiring and investing in its UK team to fuel growth in the UK and abroad.
The announcement came a day after Glencore PLC-backed Cobalt Holdings abandoned plans for a $230 million initial public offer in London. While in December FTSE 100-listed Ashtead Group PLC announced plans to move its listing to the US.
The news from Wise came alongside its results for the financial year to March 31.
Pretax profit rose 17% to £564.8 million from £481.4 million a year prior, as revenue increased 15% to a record £1.21 billion from £1.05 billion.
Diluted earnings per share rose 18% to 39.73 pence from 33.73p year-on-year.
Underlying operating profit grew 13% to £296.9 million from £262.3 million a year ago.
Wise pays no dividend.
Wise reported a 23% increase in cross-border volume to £145.2 billion driven by customer growth and greater adoption of the Wise account.
Active customer numbers jumped 21% to 15.6 million from a year prior, with Personal customers growing by 22% and Business customers up 11%.
To support growth, Wise plans to invest around £2 billion over the next two years, across infrastructure, marketing and products.
The company maintained medium-term guidance and expects underlying pretax profit margin for financial 2026 to be around the top of the 13% to 16% guidance range.
This would be below the 21% reported in financial year to March 2025, reflecting the increased investments.
Wise continues to expect underlying compound annual income growth of 15% to 20% over the medium term and for financial 2026.
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