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  • 📈 Fintech Rocket: Revolut Eyes $60B!

📈 Fintech Rocket: Revolut Eyes $60B!

Mixue’s IPO is the Real Tea!

March 03, 2025

This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes

In today’s stories:

  • Fintech Rocket: Revolut Eyes $60B!

  • Mixue’s IPO is the Real Tea!

  • Leasehold Ban: Will MPs Finally Deliver?

The summary: Revolut is skyrocketing in valuation, doubling profits, expanding into everything from mortgages to AI, and edging closer to an IPO—possibly in New York—cementing its status as the UK’s fintech juggernaut.

The details:

  • Revolut’s valuation rockets – A potential secondary share sale could see the fintech giant hit a staggering $60 billion valuation, up $15 billion in just six months. Investors are paying attention.

  • Banking, but make it everything – From mortgages to commercial lending, crypto trading to AI-powered fraud prevention, Revolut is rapidly morphing into a one-stop financial super app. Oh, and branded ATMs are on the way.

  • Profits doubling, IPO looming – Forecasted $1 billion in pre-tax profit for 2024, nearly double last year’s figure. With its valuation now outpacing Barclays and Societe Generale, an IPO could come sooner than 2026—but likely in New York, not London.

  • Fintech meets future-proofing – AI-driven fraud detection slashing scams by 60%, a trading expansion across Europe, and biometric payments in the pipeline. Revolut isn’t just evolving—it’s rewriting the rulebook.

Why it matters: Revolut isn’t just playing in the fintech space—it’s rewiring the financial system at breakneck speed, making old-school banks look positively prehistoric. With profits soaring, a $60 billion valuation in sight, and an IPO likely sooner rather than later, it’s becoming too big for investors to ignore. If London loses out on its listing, it’ll be another win for Wall Street and yet another reminder that the UK’s financial crown isn’t as secure as it once was.

The summary: Mixue’s budget-friendly bubble tea empire is taking the world by storm, outpacing McDonald's and Starbucks, delighting investors with a blockbuster IPO, and proving that affordable treats are the real winners in a cash-strapped economy.

The details:

  • Bigger than Big Macs & Lattes – Mixue Ice Cream and Tea has quietly outgrown McDonald's and Starbucks, boasting 45,000+ stores worldwide. Never heard of them? You have now.

  • Stock Market Sizzle – The Chinese bubble tea giant made a frosty entrance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with shares soaring 40% and raising a cool $444m (ÂŁ352m).

  • Budget-Friendly Brilliance – In an economy where every yuan counts, Mixue keeps it cheap and cheerful, serving ice cream and drinks for just ÂŁ0.65 a pop.

  • Franchise Frenzy – Unlike Starbucks, which loves to keep things in-house, Mixue is all about franchisees—making it less of a tea shop, more of a bubble-fuelled supply empire.

Why it matters: Mixue’s meteoric rise proves that budget-friendly treats still reign supreme, especially when wallets are feeling the pinch. Its explosive stock market debut shows investors are more than willing to pour their money into a franchise-fuelled empire rather than a traditional brand. And with more stores than McDonald's and Starbucks, it’s clear that bubble tea and bargain ice creams are giving the golden arches and overpriced lattes a serious run for their money.

The summary: After centuries of leasehold headaches, the government’s promising to finally hand power back to homeowners with a shift to commonhold—if they can get their act together and not let this reform slip into the usual political limbo.

The details:

  • Leasehold’s Last Stand? The government is finally promising to axe the archaic leasehold system, with Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook vowing to scrap it before this parliament ends—though leaseholders have heard that tune before.

  • From Feudalism to Fairness Pennycook calls leasehold a relic of the Domesday Book era, where homeowners are glorified tenants. The aim? Replace it with commonhold, where flat owners jointly manage their buildings (no more mystery service charges for ‘gold-plated doormats’).

  • Promises, Promises Previous ministers have pledged reform, only for No.10 to pour cold water on the plans. Pennycook insists Labour will get it right—eventually—blaming previous rushed legislation for the current snail’s pace.

  • New Rules Incoming Monday’s white paper lays out how commonhold will work, with protections to keep buildings in shape and service charges fair. The catch? Leaseholders, tired of endless consultations, want action—not just another government press release.

Why it matters: For millions trapped in the leasehold labyrinth, this could be the long-awaited escape route from extortionate fees and dodgy landlords who charge for “services” that exist only in their imaginations. If done right, commonhold will turn flat owners into actual homeowners rather than glorified tenants paying rent to invisible overlords. Of course, with politicians involved, the real question is whether this bold promise will be a historic victory or just another entry in the great British tradition of kicking housing reform into the long grass.