Revolut reportedly has plans to simplify its ownership structure with investor SoftBank in a move understood to be part of efforts to obtain a long-delayed UK banking licence.

Those familiar with the matter told the Financial Times (FT) that Revolut and Softbank had been locked in negotiations for months, with the Japanese investor pushing for compensation for giving up its priority class of shares.

Sources added that the agreement in principle does not include any new issuance of “top-up” shares for SoftBank.

Revolut will only be granted a UK banking licence if it gets rid of preference shares held by investors including SoftBank, according to the FT report.

It added that a key condition from the Bank of England was for Revolut to collapse its six classes of shares into one as a condition for a full licence.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led an $800 million fundraising in July 2021 that valued Revolut at $33 billion.

According to the FT, Revolut chief executive Nic Storonsky previously appealed to SoftBank chairman and chief executive Masayoshi Son to help simplify the ownership structure in aid of obtaining its UK banking license.

The move follows Revolut’s recent announcement it would again delay the filing of its 2022 accounts.

A spokesperson told Reuters at the time that its 2022 audit and annual report, which were due on 13 September, would be announced “in due course”.

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