UK-based digital bank Monzo is weighing a new fundraising round that would price the company at approximately £7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The move follows the breakdown of takeover discussions with Brazilian fintech Nubank and the stalling of separate talks to sell a minority stake to private equity investors.
Monzo had earlier explored a sale to Nubank that could have valued the UK challenger bank at up to £10 billion.
Those discussions collapsed over disagreements on price.
An acquisition would have given New York-listed Nubank, which carries a market capitalisation of around $55 billion, an entry point into the British market.
The Brazilian group is now expected to concentrate on expanding its presence in the United States instead.After the Nubank talks ended, Monzo turned its attention to buyout firms.
Advent International, TPG and CVC held discussions about acquiring a stake of as much as 15 per cent, with Monzo targeting an £8 billion valuation.
Those conversations have also stalled, prompting the bank to prepare approaches to venture capital investors for a more conventional funding round.
One person familiar with the board’s thinking indicated that directors had preferred either a full takeover or a private equity investment, as either path was likely to deliver a larger capital injection than a typical venture round.
Monzo was last valued at £4.5 billion in an employee share sale completed in 2024.
The proposed £7.5 billion figure would represent a significant step up from that level while remaining below the price the company had sought from private equity.
The bank intends to use any new funds to support expansion across Europe. It already operates in Ireland and launched services in Spain in October.
The company employs more than 5,000 people and serves more than 16 million customers, the large majority of them in the United Kingdom.
The capital-raising deliberations arrive amid a period of leadership transition.
Former chief executive TS Anil left the role last year, prompting pushback from major investors including Accel and Iconiq; he was later reinstated as a non-executive director.
His successor, Diana Layfield, has closed Monzo’s US operations and redirected focus toward European growth.
The bank reported revenue of £1.7 billion for the year ending March 2026, an increase of 39 per cent, alongside statutory pre-tax profit of £87.3 million, up from £60.5 million the previous year.
Monzo, founded in 2015, has long been viewed as one of the leading UK challenger banks seeking to attract younger customers from traditional high-street institutions.
While it continues to trail larger rival Revolut in customer numbers and geographic reach, the latest valuation discussions underscore both the company’s progress and the challenges of converting strong deposit growth into higher multiples in a selective funding environment.
The board’s shift toward venture capital after preferred options fell through highlights the difficulty of securing the scale of investment required for rapid European expansion.
