African payments firm Airtel Money plots debut on London stock market

Airtel Africa has unveiled plans to float its mobile payments firm on the London stock market in what could deliver a major boost to the City.

The company, which is already listed on London’s FTSE 100 index, said it wanted Airtel Money to be listed separately on the London Stock Exchange.

The plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) is expected to bring about one of London’s biggest listings in recent years.

The company is looking to raise around 800 million US dollars (£601 million) from the IPO, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

It is understood to be aiming for a valuation of between eight and nine billion US dollars (£6 billion to £6.8 billion).

Airtel Money’s chief executive Ian Ferrao refused to comment on how much it is looking to raise but said it would be at least 10% of the company’s market capitalisation, under the LSE’s rules.

Mr Ferrao told the Press Association that it was a “good day for London” and a milestone for the business.

“We chose London because, to be honest, there’s deep capital available in the City,” he said.

“All the global institutional investors are here and we’ve obviously done our rounds with many of them.

“What I found is there’s a very good understanding of emerging markets and even the type of business that we run is very well understood.”

He added that Airtel Africa had “found a great home” in London and the brand was “very well-known here”.

Airtel Money is used by around 53 million people across Africa to make payments, pay bills, withdraw cash and access other money services.

F7HM3R MALAWI, Salima, money transfer with airtel money, Airtel is an indian mobile phone company in contrast VISA advertisement of FMB Bank

Its biggest business is offering digital wallets, which enable people to store and transfer money, and access to loans and savings accounts.

Operating through a network of branches and kiosks, it generated revenues of around 1.4 billion US dollars (£1.1 billion) in the last financial year.

It is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, a leading telecoms provider which is part of Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises.

Mr Ferrao said Airtel Money would be the first large African fintech to list on a global stock exchange.

“This could potentially be one of the largest ever IPOs from an African company perspective,” he told PA.

The intention to pick the UK as the destination for an IPO is seen as welcome news for the City which has attracted much fewer listings in recent years.

There have been a handful of IPOs this year following a spurt of activity towards the end of 2025, including the flotations of tinned tuna maker Princes Group and small business lender Shawbrook.

Airtel Money’s planned debut is thought to be one of the biggest in the pipeline since the flotation of fintech Wise in 2021.

The firm is expected to publish a prospectus with more details on the IPO next month.