Wise, the global technology company building a better way to move money around the world, announces it is considering applying for admission by way of a direct listing of the Shares to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Shares would be admitted to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Upon listing, Wise would have a dual class share structure in place with two classes of shares in issue, class A shares and class B shares, in order to support Wise’s focus on its mission as it transitions into the public markets. Class B shares hold 9 votes per share, are strictly non-transferable and, amongst other voting right cancellation events, expire on the fifth anniversary of any listing.
All of Wise’s shareholders and holders of vested options as at 23 May 2021 are entitled to elect to receive 50% of the class A share holding in the Company with additional corresponding class B shares on a 1:1 basis (save for Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise, who is entitled to elect to receive 100% of his class A share holding in the Company with additional corresponding class B shares on a 1:1 basis).
The voting rights attaching to the class B shares are, subject to certain regulatory approvals, capped so that no shareholder can, by virtue of the class B shares they hold, cast more than one vote less than 35% of the eligible votes in respect of any shareholder decision (save for Kristo Käärmann who, for so long as he is CEO of the Company, will be capped in respect of his class B shares at one vote less than 50% of the eligible votes in respect of any shareholder decision. If, at any time, he is not CEO of the Company he will be capped at one below 35% of the eligible votes in respect of any shareholder decision). The class B shares are non-tradeable and will not be listed.
Wise has engaged Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Barclays Bank PLC as Lead Financial Advisers, and Citigroup Global Markets Limited as co-adviser in the event the direct listing proceeds.
In FY2021, Wise moved £54.4 billion across borders, for 6 million customers active in the financial year, representing a volume CAGR of 42% between FY2019 and FY2021. Revenues increased by a CAGR of 54% over the same period, reaching £421 million in FY2021.
The company saw strong growth not just at a group level but also across all geographies it operates in and with both personal and business customers. Gross margins were stable at approximately 62% throughout this period. In FY2021, Adjusted EBITDA reached £109 million, a margin of 25.8%, while cash conversion was 95.6%.
Profit before tax for the year more than doubled to £41 million compared to the prior year.
Looking ahead, while the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will remain difficult to predict, Wise expects revenue to grow in the medium-term at a CAGR of over 20% and Adjusted EBITDA margin to remain above 20%. For FY2022, Wise expects revenue growth in the low to mid-twenties on a percentage basis.
