Monzo explores sale to Brazil’s Nubank or new funding round

Monzo, the fast‑growing UK digital bank, is weighing a possible acquisition by Brazil’s Nubank, a new fundraising round, or a partial sale to private‑equity investors.

Sky News and the Financial Times report that Nubank has approached Monzo with an offer that could value the UK bank at between £8 billion and £10 billion. Nubank’s parent, Nu Holdings, has a market capitalisation of about $65.5 billion. Monzo has engaged Morgan Stanley and Qatalyst as advisers, but discussions remain at an early stage.

In parallel, Monzo is considering a fresh equity raise targeting a valuation of more than £8 billion to fund further expansion across Europe. A third option under review is the sale of up to a 15 percent stake to private‑equity firms, which would provide cash for its growth plans.

The bank, which launched in Ireland in April with roughly 100,000 users on a waitlist, now reports over 15 million customers worldwide, of whom 10.4 million are active users. Monzo employs 5,275 staff across offices in London, Dublin, Cardiff and Barcelona, and plans to double its Dublin workforce to 70 by mid‑2027.

Monzo’s EU chief executive, Michael Carney, is stepping down to start an AI accessibility start‑up, and the bank recently announced the closure of its US operations to focus on nearer‑term opportunities.

Source: Silicon Republic. Photo: Vitaly Gariev / Pexels.