Revolut Signs 10-Year Paris Lease, Commits €1 Billion to France

Revolut has signed a 10-year lease for its new Western European headquarters in Paris, planting a major flag in the heart of Europe's second-largest economy. The UK fintech, last valued at $75 billion, will move into 116 Rue Reaumur in the city's historic Bourse business district by early 2027, occupying 2,400 square metres across six floors of a building with a 19th-century facade.

The company is committing over €1 billion to France over the next three years, a figure it describes as the most significant foreign investment in France's financial sector in more than a decade. It plans to hire more than 400 people across Paris and Western Europe, with a particular focus on risk and compliance roles.

Crucially, Revolut confirmed it will apply for a French banking licence with the Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution (ACPR). The company currently operates across the European Economic Area under its Lithuanian banking licence, but a French licence would let it offer products like mortgages and regulated savings accounts directly to French customers. "We are still working on it with the French regulators and the European regulators," the company said. "We don't see any blocker."

France is already one of Revolut's largest markets. The neobank has 7 million French customers and is targeting 10 million by the end of 2026. That would put it in direct competition with BoursoBank, the Societe Generale-owned digital bank that currently leads the French market with roughly 9 million customers.

Beatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, Revolut's CEO for Western Europe, framed the Paris location as strategic. The Bourse district sits between the traditional financial centre and Paris's tech hub near Sentier, representing, in her words, "the best of both worlds, traditional finance on one side, and technology on the other."

The Paris office will initially cover France before expanding its oversight to Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. It complements Revolut's existing EEA base in Lithuania and reflects a broader pattern of UK fintechs deepening their presence on the continent.

For France, the deal is a win. President Macron's government has worked hard to attract tech and finance companies post-Brexit, and landing Revolut's Western European headquarters adds to a growing roster that includes companies like Stripe and various AI startups. For Revolut, the move signals that its European ambitions go well beyond simply holding a licence in Vilnius and serving customers remotely. The company wants to be a full-service European bank, and Paris is where it plans to prove it.