On Wednesday, England made it to the final of UEFA Euro 2020, and Wise debuted on the London stock exchange. 

In Brief:

Wise had a valuation of £8.75bn at its debut. 

This is an increase on its valuation of about £3.5bn in July 2020. 

It’s the largest direct listing ever in the UK. 

What does this mean?

While many had a sense of national pride on Wednesday as England won to Denmark in the Euro semifinals, but Wise’s stock market debut was a moment of pride for UK FinTech. 

A key priority following the Kalifa Review has been to improve the listing market in the UK so that, while remaining a solid foundation for startups, it also retains those businesses as they grow. At present, many have chosen to list in the US instead. Many in the FinTech community are waiting to see whether other businesses follow Wise’s example.