Disagreements over Starling Bank’s planned public listing are expected to drive further board departures this year, after several members have already left
Starling Bank is consolidating its executive board after several members departed amid differences over the digital bank’s plans for an initial public offering (IPO).
The departing members reportedly disagreed with Starling Bank CEO Raman Bhatia and the bank’s largest shareholder, Harald McPike, over the IPO and the bank’s wider growth strategy, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg.
In October, Starling Bank filed with the UK’s Companies House to create separate holding and intermediary companies, a structure the Bank of England requires to ensure financial safety. It is one of the conditions for a UK IPO, for which Starling at the time favoured the London Stock Exchange over New York.
The board members and executives who disagreed with the listing ambitions are unnamed, and a Starling spokesperson described the departures as “in the ordinary course of business”.
Chairman David Sproul will step down as head of the board in March after five years in the role, staying on until a successor is found.
Non-Executive Director Ian Simon Jenkins left Starling Bank in September 2025 to join the FNZ Group as Chief Financial Administrative Officer for the UK.
According to Starling’s filing, as cited by Bloomberg, representatives of McPike’s investment firm JTC Group, Lazaro Camps and Marcus Traill, are also expected to resign.
Richard Watts and Nick Williamson, fund managers at Starling Bank investor Chrysalis Investments, will also leave the board as Chrysalis winds down its stake following this year’s equities market decline, driven by the conflict in the Middle East.
“Ensuring a strong pipeline of talent remains a key priority for the group,” said Sproul in Starling’s 2025 annual report.
“This year, the committee focused on succession planning for the Executive and Senior Management Function roles, reviewing and enhancing the Bank’s executive structure to strengthen accountability and decision- making, and overseeing the introduction of a new Leadership Programme to define the skills and behaviours important for our current and future leaders.”
Starling Bank: The incomings
While a Starling Bank spokesperson told Bloomberg not all board member departures will be replaced, it has “already strengthened” its board with some hires.
The most notable inbound appointment is John Mountain, Co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Starling.
Mountain is rejoining Starling, where he previously served as an advisor until December 2024. He then took a career break before joining Stoa, a technology savings platform.
Dan Olley, former CEO of financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, has also joined Starling as an independent board member. Olley left Hargreaves Lansdown for personal reasons.
How likely is a Starling IPO, and where will it list?
At the start of 2026, Bhatia told The Times there were ‘no firm plans’ for an IPO, and that even if shareholders agreed to go public, it would not happen this year.
He revealed that Starling has been in talks with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) leadership, saying it would be “great for the UK to get its mojo back” and that he wants the bank to be part of a UK “success story” if it lists in London.
Over the past several years, many financial services companies have chosen to list in the US rather than London, primarily due to the larger capital market and a greater appetite among US firms to invest in fintech.
On 19 June, Starling closed its debut bond issuance on the LSE, a process in which a company sells bonds, or debt securities, to investors who lend money in exchange for interest payments.
The £150m Tier 2 bond offering was the first rated public sale by a European neobank. NatWest and Morgan Stanley acted as joint lead managers, with the sale peaking at £400m in demand from UK, European and international investors.
“We are delighted to mark this milestone at the London Stock Exchange, following investors’ incredibly positive response to our debut bond offering, which is a significant first for the neobanking sector and reflects strong confidence in the long-term potential of Starling Group,” said Bhatia.
