Klarna rival Laybuy gears up to float on the Australian stock exchange

New Zealand-based buy-now-pay-later fintech Laybuy is set to float on the Australian stock exchange. 

Laybuy had planned to float earlier on this year, but its IPO plans were delayed because of the coronavirus. 

The fintech will float, as first reported by The Times, for around £115m, having previously planned to float at £35m, on 7 September and marks the first of the buy-now-pay-later rivals to go public. 

Since 2017, Laybuy has amassed 1.6m users, with half of those here in the UK, and is also available in New Zealand and Australia. 

At the end of July, Laybuy secured an $80m debt facility from Victory Park Capital, which was used to bolster its UK offering. 

Laybuy also went on a drive for new merchants earlier in the summer, adding Pretty Little Thing and HYPE to its 5,600-strong merchant base. 

Buy-now-pay-later has been one of the fintech standout stars, quickly becoming one of the most highly valued sectors. 

Laybuy’s European rival Klarna, which was founded in 2005, was recently valued at $5.5bn, placing it as the joint highest valued fintech in Europe alongside Revolut and Checkout.com.

Even closer to home, Clearpay and its parent company Afterpay both underwent a makeover earlier this month after collaborating with the colour institute Pantone to create a new exclusive colour.