Zopa looks to raise another $100m ahead of IPO

Zopa is reportedly in talks to raise $100m (£89.2m) to fund its expansion ahead of a stock market float.

The digital bank is in detailed negotiations with new and existing shareholders, according to Sky News.

Sources cited by Sky News said a number of blue-chip financial institutions were involved in the discussions.

The fundraising is expected to value Zopa at more than £750m, according to one investor cited in the report.

Zopa declined to comment to Sky News.

In October last year, Zopa confirmed a $300m fundraise as part of its plans to go public.

The round was led by Softbank and included backing from existing investors IAG Silverstripe, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, NorthZone and Augmentum Fintech.

Zopa exited the peer-to-peer lending sector in January to focus on its digital bank and its plan for an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2022.

Read more: Zopa Bank, two years on

But in June, chief executive Jaidev Jardana told CNBC that “the markets are not there” for fintech IPOs due to the challenging macroeconomic climate.

If Zopa goes public, it will follow in the footsteps of former P2P lender Funding Circle and alternative property lender LendInvest which listed in 2018 and 2021 respectively.