Revolut Wants to Let Its Founder Borrow $250mn Against His Shares

London, 20 August 2026 — EBM Newsdesk Analysis —Nick Staunton

Revolut is asking investors to approve changes that would allow its billionaire co-founder and chief executive, Nik Storonsky, to borrow as much as $250mn against his stake in the fintech company.

The proposed ceiling is five times the existing $50mn limit. It would provide Storonsky with substantially greater access to cash without requiring him to sell shares in the business he has led since its creation in 2015.

For Revolut, the calculation is straightforward: its valuation has increased so dramatically that governance limits written when the company was much smaller now appear unusually restrictive. For investors, however, the proposal raises a more difficult question about how much financial flexibility should be granted to the dominant founder of a company that increasingly resembles a global bank.

From $50mn to $250mn

Documents sent to investors reportedly propose removing the requirement for board approval covering larger share pledges and expanding the classes of shares that Storonsky may use as collateral.

Under Revolut’s current rules, an employee holding more than 20 per cent of its ordinary shares can pledge up to 10 per cent of that holding without board approval. A further 5 per cent can be pledged with majority board support. Storonsky is currently the only employee to whom those provisions apply.

The proposed amendments, developed under the internal name “Project Shasta”, would remove limits on the proportion of shares pledged while raising the borrowing cap to $250mn.

Crucially, the proposal does not mean Storonsky has borrowed the money or intends to do so. A person familiar with the changes told the Financial Times that the existing threshold had been established when Revolut was worth a fraction of its present valuation.

That argument has some force. A secondary share transaction in July reportedly valued Revolut at approximately $115bn, up from the $75bn valuation established in November 2025.

Storonsky is believed to own around 29 per cent of the business. On paper, that holding would be worth more than $33bn at the latest valuation, making a $250mn loan relatively modest compared with the value of the proposed collateral.

Founder liquidity without a share sale

Private-company founders face a familiar problem: they can be extraordinarily wealthy on paper while holding relatively little immediately available cash.

Borrowing against shares allows a founder to obtain liquidity without selling equity, reducing voting power or unsettling investors through a high-profile disposal. It can also avoid the need to wait for an initial public offering or another secondary share sale.

For Revolut, allowing Storonsky to borrow against his stake may therefore be preferable to watching its most important shareholder sell hundreds of millions of dollars of stock.

But share-backed borrowing is not without risk. If a company’s valuation falls sharply, lenders may demand additional collateral or the repayment of part of the loan. In an extreme case, pledged shares could be sold, creating uncertainty over ownership and control.

That scenario appears remote while the borrowing facility remains small compared with Storonsky’s total holding. Nevertheless, good governance is designed for difficult conditions, not merely for periods in which valuations continue rising.

Revolut is no longer an ordinary start-up

Revolut’s scale changes the significance of the proposal. The company now serves around 75mn customers and reported record pre-tax profits of £1.7bn on revenue of approximately £4.5bn for 2025.

It has also moved deeper into regulated banking. Revolut launched its UK bank in March 2026 and has applied for a US national bank charter as part of its ambition to become the first genuinely global digital bank.

Revolut says that it follows the principles of the 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code even though it is not formally required to do so. That commitment will inevitably attract greater scrutiny as the company expands and prepares for an eventual public listing.

The real issue is oversight

There is nothing inherently improper about a founder borrowing against shares. The proposed $250mn limit is also small relative to Storonsky’s estimated stake.

The more consequential issue is the suggested removal of board approval and proportional limits. Independent oversight is particularly valuable when a founder simultaneously serves as chief executive and exercises substantial influence over the company.

Revolut has built one of Europe’s most valuable technology businesses by moving faster than established banks. Its next challenge is demonstrating that its governance can mature just as quickly.

Allowing Storonsky greater liquidity may be commercially reasonable. Removing meaningful scrutiny over how that liquidity is obtained would be harder to justify.