Trade Republic closed a €1.2 billion secondary transaction valuing the company at €12.5 billion, cementing its position as Germany's most valuable startup.

Existing investors, led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, bought shares from early backers, while new long-term investors, including Wellington Management, Singapore's GIC, and Fidelity Management & Research Company, joined the shareholder base.

Trade Republic’s Valuation Jumps From €5 Billion in Three Years

The deal doesn't inject fresh capital into the company, which has been profitable for three consecutive years. Trade Republic had revenue of €340 million in the year to September 2024. The Berlin-based neobroker reported earlier this month it generated €34.8 million in profit after securing its full ECB banking license, with equity climbing to €566.5 million.

The secondary round more than doubles Trade Republic's 2022 valuation of roughly €5 billion. Other existing investors participating in the share purchase include Sequoia, Accel, TCV, and Thrive Capital, alongside new investors Khosla Ventures, Lingotto Innovation, and Aglaé, the technology investment arm of France's Arnault family.

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Trade Republic has doubled its customer base to more than 10 million users in the past 18 months, with clients now managing €150 billion in assets across the platform. Co-founder Christian Hecker said 70% of Trade Republic customers are first-time investors, adding that the "cultural shift to retail investing in Europe is only starting".

“We launched in 2019 with a mission to help close Europe’s pension gap,” he added.

Expansion Follows Banking License and Product Rollout

The company obtained a full banking license from the European Central Bank in 2023, allowing it to expand beyond its original brokerage model. Trade Republic now offers current accounts with local IBANs, passes ECB interest rates directly to customers, and has distributed €2.5 billion in interest payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term since January 2023.

This year the neobroker localized its offering in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Austria, while launching in Poland in September. The company also introduced child savings accounts and expanded into new asset classes, recently giving retail investors access to private markets, fixed income, and a crypto wallet.

Pension Gap Drives Retail Investing Surge

Hecker pointed to Europe's widening pension gap as a driver for private wealth accumulation.

"This is more important than ever as the public pension system is under growing pressure to fulfill its promises," he said.

Recent surveys show 41% of Europeans still don't contribute to supplementary pension schemes, while state pensions across the EU are expected to decline from 46.2% of retirement income in 2019 to around 37.5% by 2070.

Germany and other European governments have started implementing pension reforms to encourage private stock ownership, a trend Trade Republic expects to accelerate. The company, which launched in 2019, operates across 18 European countries and holds a full banking license supervised by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Deutsche Bundesbank.