- Ex-Goldman Sachs partner Tim Bunting sourced Balderton Capital’s £1m 2015 seed investment in Revolut, which became the firm’s standout win.
- Balderton’s $305m 2014 Fund V has delivered over 25x, including a partial Revolut exit worth about $2bn while still retaining a meaningful stake.
- Balderton’s early bet on GoCardless later faced fintech valuation compression, with a $2.1bn 2022 peak followed by a 2025 sale to Mollie for about €1.05–1.1bn.
- Partner profit shares rose sharply with performance, from roughly £945k per partner in 2015 to about £1.43m by 2021 when excluding the top earner.
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The story illustrates the outsized impact of early stage bets in venture capital and the critical role individual deal sourcing. Tim Bunting’s background at Goldman Sachs (including as Global Head of Equity Capital Markets and vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International) positioned him well to spot the fintech opportunity that Revolut represented, and the seed investment in 2015 has become Balderton’s largest ever win. Fund 5, in which that investment was made, achieved returns of more than 25×, having raised $305 million and now enabled sale or partial exits totaling approximately $2 billion.
The GoCardless case complements this view: Balderton’s Series B participation in 2014 for GoCardless led to a $2.1 billion valuation in early 2022, but its acquisition by Mollie in late 2025 for roughly €1.05–1.1 billion shows how macro-fintech valuation pressures of recent years have led to sweet spots for strategic buyers. Rather than full returns to liquidity, many returns come from a mix of secondary share sales and M&A.
Balderton’s internal partner compensation provides insight into returns sharing: while partners’ profit shares in 2015 averaged near £945,000 (seven partners), excluding the leading partner lowered that to about £656,000. By 2021, still excluding the top partner, the average had risen to ~£1.43 million. This suggests that successful exits like Revolut boost both distributions to LPs and internal partner compensation significantly, reinforcing the alignment incentives in venture GP structures.
Strategic implications include: the importance of maintaining an early stage investment discipline; sourcing via experienced talent with deep sector insight (like fintech); managing a portfolio that allows for both follow-on and partial exit opportunities; and structuring partner compensation to reward long-tail winners. Open questions remain around how much of Balderton’s current holdings (e.g. in Revolut) remain unrealized, the timing and scale of further liquidity events (including IPOs), and how the firm adjusts to changing valuation dynamics in sectors like fintech.
Supporting Notes
- Revolut seed investment details: Balderton invested £1 million in Revolut’s seed in 2015, in a £1.5 million round valuing Revolut at £6.7 million at that time.
- Fund performance: Balderton’s Fund 5, raised at $305 million in 2014, has returned over 25× its size and still holds a significant stake in Revolut.
- GoCardless trajectory: Valued at $2.1 billion following its 2022 Series G round; acquired by Mollie in late 2025 for roughly €1.05 billion.
- Partner compensation 2015 vs 2021: In 2015, profit sharing averaged £945,000 per partner (seven members), with exclusion of top-earner giving average ~£656,000; in 2021, same exclusion leads to ~£1.43 million.
- Tim Bunting’s background: Spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, including senior roles; joined Balderton as partner in 2007, moved to senior advisor in 2021.