London Fintech CEO’s Instagram Coffee Table Poll Goes Viral as Company Eyes £2bn IPO

In a surprising intersection of social media and high finance, Justin Basini, CEO of ClearScore, found himself unwittingly thrust into Instagram stardom when his wife’s coffee table poll captivated thousands online—even as his credit marketplace fintech positions itself for a potential £2bn London Stock Exchange listing.

From Domestic Dilemma to Digital Sensation

The story began unassumingly on Elizabeth Day’s Instagram feed, nestled between commentary on royal family dynamics and film reviews. The novelist and podcaster posed a seemingly simple question to her 30,000 followers: which coffee table should she and her husband choose for their home?

The debate raged between Dunelm’s understated kidney-shaped black-stained mango wood table and Soho Home’s striking circular reddish-orange Rosso Alicante marble option. Professional interior designers, comedian Miranda Hart, and TV actress Scarlet Moffatt all weighed in with passionate opinions.

“I was completely oblivious to the whole thing,” admits Basini, 51, speaking from ClearScore’s airy south London headquarters. “Thousands of people were commenting on our furniture choices while I was focused on building a company that serves 26 million users across five countries.”

The Accidental Influencer

What makes the story particularly ironic is that Basini himself has largely avoided social media due to health concerns. Yet through his wife’s popular Instagram presence, he’s become something of an unwilling digital celebrity, frequently appearing in her videos as an amateur chef.

“People now walk into business meetings and the first thing they mention is seeing me cook pasta on Sunday,” Basini laughs. “They engage with that more than the fact that we’re helping millions of people access better financial products. It’s surreal.”

This unexpected online fame comes at a pivotal moment for ClearScore, the credit marketplace fintech Basini co-founded in 2015. The company is currently working with an undisclosed accountancy firm to audit its systems—legal, financial, reporting structures—to determine IPO readiness.

London or Bust: The IPO Decision

As ClearScore approaches what could be a £1.5-2.5bn valuation, Basini has made his preference clear: London will be the lead option for the company’s public listing.

“As I see it now, given the size of the company, the profile of the brand, the investor base, our mix of growth and profitability, London is the lead option,” he states unequivocally. The UK chancellor’s stamp duty holidays for companies listing on the London Stock Exchange provide additional incentive.

The decision carries significant weight beyond ClearScore’s boardroom. A successful London listing would inject much-needed momentum into the UK’s frozen IPO market, potentially encouraging other fintechs and tech companies to consider the capital as their public listing destination.

However, Basini emphasizes this won’t happen overnight. “We want to grow bigger before we take the plunge,” he explains, suggesting ClearScore aims to substantially increase its valuation and market presence before facing public market scrutiny.

Why Not America?

The United States, typically the default choice for tech IPOs, appears unlikely for ClearScore. The company lacks US brand recognition—it doesn’t operate there—and Basini argues it’s too small to generate the excitement American investors demand.

“If a company were to IPO for £5bn in the UK, I think they would be FTSE 100,” he explains. “In the US, they would be the bottom 25 per cent.” This size consideration, combined with ClearScore’s established UK presence and investor base, makes London the logical choice.

The Public Good of Going Public

Speaking personally rather than as CEO, Basini articulates a compelling argument for why companies should list publicly: it’s a matter of social responsibility and public trust.

“My dad was a teacher, ex-coal miner, he never owned shares, and when Thatcher said you can own a bit of British Gas, you can own a bit of British Telecom, he bought a few shares,” Basini recalls. “What that is doing is enfranchising him and my family into that business growth. Largely, we have lost that, and that is because a lot of companies are staying private and they are owned by the top 0.1 per cent of the world.”

He argues that keeping capital locked in private companies stokes public distrust and animosity toward “fat cat companies” that seem to be “mugging off” ordinary people. By selling shares to the wider public through an IPO, companies can help reestablish trust between businesses and communities.

Employee Wealth Creation

ClearScore has implemented thoughtful policies around employee equity. Long-serving staff members can cash in on their service through small annual secondary share sales—a practice Basini instituted with particular care.

“I am very conscious that I have people who joined me in their twenties, they are now in their thirties, they’re having babies, they want to pay down a bit of the mortgage,” he explains. This approach ensures that the wealth creation from ClearScore’s growth benefits not just investors but the employees who helped build the company.

Disrupting the Credit Score Giants

ClearScore operates as a credit marketplace that has evolved significantly from its credit score roots. Founded by Basini, Nigel Morris (managing partner of QED Investors and ClearScore chairman), and Dan Cobley (ex-Google advisor), the company now offers users credit cards, loans, car finance, and soon-to-launch mortgages.

The fintech has disrupted a market traditionally dominated by giants like TransUnion and Experian by offering what it claims is a more user-friendly and cost-effective service. Unlike rivals, users receive their credit score, credit report, and tools to understand them—all for free.

The company’s algorithm and banking API connections represent another competitive advantage. This technology ensures customers are only served credit products that fit their financial budgets, eliminating the “doom loop” of users getting rejected for credit, which then damages their credit rating further. ClearScore is also available on third-party websites like GoCompare.

Users of ClearScore see their credit scores increase by an average of 80 points, helping them access more favorable financial products. The company makes money through commissions—”bounties”—from financial institutions when products are sold, while remaining free to consumers.

Financial Growth and Expansion Plans

ClearScore has raised over $200 million in debt and equity funding and is backed by QED, Lead Edge Capital, and Blenheim Chalcot. It was last publicly valued at $700 million in 2021, suggesting substantial growth potential ahead of any IPO.

The company operates across the UK (16 million users), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada, with potential expansion into South America, mainland Europe, and Asia on the horizon. Despite suggestions that ClearScore might have peaked, Basini points to continued growth of around two million customers annually, including one million UK users each year.

Buy Now Pay Later products represent the next frontier, potentially through acquisitions—ClearScore has completed three to date. “Over the next 10 years, we want to broker every type of credit that is out there,” Basini states. “We will start to think about Buy Now Pay Later. We will start to think about equity release. We will start to think about insurance that goes alongside credit products.”

However, ClearScore won’t venture into investment and savings products. “My users, they really are average families,” Basini explains. “If I look at the average, they are heavy users of credit, they are responsible borrowers. But they don’t have a huge amount of assets. They are not investing in the stock market.”

The Near-Acquisition That Wasn’t

In 2018, ClearScore came close to being acquired by Experian, but the Competition and Markets Authority (where Basini now sits on the board) ruled against the deal due to competition concerns. Had it succeeded, Basini jokes, “I would have had all the coffee tables in the world!”

Financial Performance

For the year ending 2024, ClearScore UK reported revenues of £89.7 million and pre-tax profits of £17.9 million. However, these figures represent only the UK entity, with Basini noting that profits from the UK operation are reinvested into the company’s global business.

A Journey Through Peaks and Valleys

Basini’s professional journey has been marked by both failure and success. ClearScore represents his third startup—the first failed in his twenties (where he acknowledges making mistakes), and the second, a data brokerage firm, achieved moderate success before being sold.

Between startups, Basini bluffed his way into Deutsche Bank, pretending to be an investment banker, made some money, paid off credit card debts from his failed venture, then learned about consumer credit at Capital One.

His twenties were particularly challenging, marked by suicidal thoughts and therapy following his first startup’s failure. He returned to therapy around ten years ago during a divorce and following his father’s death. Zen Buddhism has provided crucial balance, helping him achieve calm, handle pressure, and remain attuned to others’ feelings.

“I meditate quite frequently. I spend time trying to integrate Buddhist practices into the way I think and feel about things,” he shares.

Despite his inner calm, Basini admits to being a “quite emotional” leader who cries easily. “When did I last tear up?” he asks his PR representative, who confirms it was at the ClearScore summer party the previous year. “Just because talking about the people we employ. We have a lot of people here who have been with us for eight, nine years. And came as first job people. They have grown, they have delivered a lot to the company.”

He also acknowledges being a workaholic, sending Slack and email messages at 2am.

Embracing the AI Revolution

Some commentators suggest AI could disrupt ClearScore’s business model, but Basini sees it as an opportunity rather than a threat. “I think it is going to be fantastic for businesses like us, which are tech-enabled, have a data asset that is unique, and have a brand,” he argues.

ClearScore is leveraging AI across multiple fronts: integrating it into its product offerings, using it internally to streamline code, and investing in agentic AI technologies.

London’s Fintech Future

Amid suggestions that London has lost its European fintech pre-eminence, Basini remains a strong advocate for the capital as a business hub. “London is still a fantastic place to build a business. It is packed full of entrepreneurs, packed full of talent, huge infrastructure, huge access to government, regulator and the City.”

Looking Ahead to 2026

For the remainder of the year, ClearScore’s focus is clear: “Execute our plan, integrate Acre (its latest acquisition), focus a lot on some of the stuff we are doing in agentic AI and mortgages, and that is what we will be launching later this year.”

And the coffee table? The couple ultimately chose West Elm’s marble top perched atop a dark bronze base—a decision that, while generating significant social media buzz, pales in comparison to the financial decisions Basini makes daily as he guides ClearScore toward its public market future.

Tags / Viral Phrases:

• “broke the internet” with coffee table poll
• accidental Instagram celebrity CEO
• fintech IPO London Stock Exchange
• credit marketplace ClearScore
• £2bn valuation fintech
• London vs US IPO debate
• employee equity wealth creation
• AI in credit scoring
• Zen Buddhism CEO
• emotional leadership
• disrupting credit score giants
• Buy Now Pay Later expansion
• fintech London hub
• public trust in private companies
• credit score improvement 80 points
• agentic AI investment
• mortgage marketplace launch
• employee secondary share sales
• failed startup to fintech success
• coffee table Instagram drama
• Miranda Hart comments
• fintech valuations 2024
• stamp duty holidays IPO
• Competition and Markets Authority
• fintech acquisitions strategy
• credit products expansion
• work-life balance CEO
• fintech mental health
• public markets vs private capital

,