In July 2021, the British fintech service Revolut raised $800 million, after which its valuation increased 6 times - up to $33 billion.
After analyzing UK Companies house documents and Revolut's 2020 reports, Sifted concluded that there are 76 former and current top managers and members of the startup's board of directors who own Revolut shares worth more than $1 million. At least 10 employees own shares over $10 million.
Revolut itself refused to confirm this information, citing the fact that it is confidential.
Sifted notes that the real number of millionaires of the British fintech service may exceed 100. Because among Revolut employees there are option holders who have not yet exercised their right to purchase shares. According to the aforementioned fintech reports, its employees have 2.4 million options worth $1.54 billion.
The number of options issued surged in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. Then, in parallel with the wave of layoffs and layoffs, Revolut initiated the SSS - salary sacrifice scheme: employees were offered to give part of their salaries in exchange for company options. As part of the agreement, anyone could exchange a portion of their salary for double the value of the startup's options.
Why is it interestingThe value of the shares that the employee holding the option will receive as a result of the exercise of his right to the shares directly depends on the value of the company. In the case of Revolut, its valuation has increased 6 times in almost a year and a half, and with it the value of the service's shares. This allowed employees who once received options from Revolut to become millionaires. Thus, the case of a British startup clearly demonstrates the benefits of options for employees of large startups and companies.
About Revolut
Revolut is a British fintech service launched in 2015 by Ukrainian Vlad Yatsenko and Russian Nikolai Storonsky. Its product is neobank: all operations with cards are carried out in the application of the same name on a smartphone. For 2021, the company has more than 16 million customers and 150 million transactions per month.
