Revolut allows CEO Nik Storonsky to borrow up to $250M against his stake

Revolut is letting its co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky borrow up to $250 million against his equity stake in the company.

Storonsky holds approximately 29% of Revolut, a position that’s become enormously valuable as the company’s valuation has climbed. The company was last valued at $45 billion during a secondary share sale in August 2024, making Storonsky’s stake worth roughly $13 billion on paper.

The liquidity puzzle for private company founders

During the August 2024 secondary share sale, Storonsky sold between 40% and 60% of the total shares involved in the transaction, netting around $250 million in proceeds. Now the borrowing arrangement against his remaining stake provides another lever for accessing capital while retaining his ownership position.

The distinction between selling shares and borrowing against them matters. Selling reduces your ownership. Borrowing lets you keep the upside if the company’s valuation continues to climb, though it comes with the risk of margin calls if things go south.

Revolut’s trajectory and the $500 billion question

Revolut secured its full UK banking licence in March 2026, a milestone that allows it to offer deposit-taking and consumer credit services in its home market.

Perhaps more revealing are the discussions around performance-based equity awards that could increase Storonsky’s ownership stake. These awards are reportedly tied to Revolut achieving valuations near $500 billion by the end of 2025. The company’s valuation has been projected to potentially reach $75 billion, which would represent significant growth from the $45 billion mark set in 2024 but would still leave it a long way from the half-trillion threshold.

What this signals for fintech and founder economics

Secondary share sales have become more common as founders of high-valuation private companies seek liquidity. So have lending arrangements backed by private company equity, though these tend to be available only to founders with stakes in the most well-known and highly valued firms.

Revolut has over 45 million customers globally and has been building out its product offering from currency exchange and stock trading to crypto services and now full banking. Its revenue growth has been strong enough to attract institutional investors at increasingly higher valuations in successive funding rounds.

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