Wise profits treble as CAB Payments confirms plans to list on the LSE

Britain’s financial technology sector received a double boost as payments firm Wise said its profits have more than trebled, while another confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange next week.

Wise, which specialises in international money transfers, posted a profit of £146.5million for the year to the end of March, up from £43.9million in 2022.

And CAB Payments revealed that its shares would list on the London market next Thursday with a projected value of around £851million.

The announcements provided much-needed optimism for Britain’s tech sector, which in recent months has been buffeted by several criticisms and high-profile snubs. 

The most notable of these was the semiconductor maker Arm, whose parent company SoftBank has chosen to list the company in New York despite hefty lobbying from the Government.

‘It’s a double dose of good news for the UK,’ said Russ Shaw, founder of industry body Tech London Advocates, adding that it reflected the strength of the London tech industry and predicting more tech firms could make their debut on the stock market this year.

‘We’ll see more coming in. They are just waiting for the right market dynamic. There is a huge amount of interest in UK tech,’ Shaw added.

Wise attributed its bumper profit to rising interest rates, which allowed it to accrue more earnings from customer funds held in its accounts, with balances also increasing.

Its active customer base grew 34 per cent year-on-year to around 10m, helping push revenues up 51 per cent to £846.1million.

Wise shares surged 16.4 per cent, or 86p, to 611.4p yesterday. Its figures will be welcomed by investors following a difficult period after Wise’s debut on the exchange in July 2021.

Despite listing to much fanfare at about 800p per share, the stock has since lost a big chunk of its value.

In September 2021, the firm’s founder and boss Kristo Kaarmann was fined £365,651 by HMRC for defaulting on his tax returns.

The executive team has also seen major upheaval after the chief executive said in May that he would take a sabbatical between September and December to spend more time with his newborn son.

And chief financial officer Matthew Briers will step down before March next year to recover from a serious cycling accident.

CAB Payments, meanwhile, announced its shares would begin trading next week at a price of 335p per share.

That figure means that its projected value is just shy of ‘unicorn’ status, which is a term used for tech firms that are valued at £1billion or more.

Its decision to list comes after Turkish chemicals firm WE Soda dramatically ditched its plans to float in London this month, citing ‘extreme investor caution’.