Monzo staff given chance to sell shares in deal set to value the group at £4.5bn

Hundreds of Monzo employees are expected to pocket tens of millions of pounds after being given the opportunity to sell part of their holdings in the UK digital bank.

It is understood that Monzo is offering staff the chance to sell stock as part of a secondary share sale, which is thought to value the firm at £4.5 billion.

The deal, which is expected to be announced on Friday, is said to be backed by existing tech investors such as StepStone Group and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The secondary share sale – which was first reported by Sky News – would see Monzo’s valuation surge by nearly £500 million since May alone.

Monzo was valued at 5.2 billion US dollars (£4.1 billion) earlier this year after a fundraising round.

The bank has more than 10 million customers, after adding about two million customers last year alone.

It reported its maiden annual profit in June, notching up a £15.4 million haul.

Monzo, which was launched in 2015, employs around 4,000 people.

The latest share sale comes amid mounting speculation that the group might consider a stock market listing.

It is looking to enter the European market and said earlier this year it wanted to target growth in the US market having decided to withdraw its application for a banking licence in the country in 2021, when it was told it was unlikely to be approved.