Starling Bank reported a slight decline in annual profit and revenue 

Starling Group (“Starling”) published its financial results for the twelve months ending 31 March 2026 (FY26). The UK fintech notched a £217m pre-tax profit, down three per cent from the £223m secured in the prior year. This came as revenue slipped 5.6 per cent to £887m.

FY26 Highlights: 

. Group platform accounts rose to 6.2 million (FY25: 5.3 million).

. Starling achieved a fifth consecutive year of profitability, with profit before tax of £217.1 million (FY25: £223.4 million).

. Engine by Starling’s revenue grew by 25% as its client base doubled on international demand for the Group’s banking technology. 

. Group revenue was £887.4 million (FY25: £940.0 million) demonstrating a strong underlying performance despite the softening interest rate environment.  

. Sector-leading average revenue per active user (ARPAU) of £275 and pre-tax return on capital employed (ROCE) of 34.6%.

. Customer deposits increased to £12.7 billion (FY25: £12.1 billion) as the average deposit balance per customer rose 7.9% to £4,241.

. High primacy rate with 56% of SME customers and 35% of retail customers using Starling as their primary bank account.*

Declan Ferguson, Group Chief Financial Officer, said: “We grew platform accounts and kept our focus on customer quality during the year, delivering sector-leading revenue per active user of £275. Thanks to our robust capital position we were able to acquire Ember – a brilliant business which has already enhanced our SME offering – and with a current surplus exceeding £500 million we remain well placed to pursue further organic and inorganic growth opportunities.”

“Our business delivered sustained earnings against a backdrop of softening rates and certain regulatory restrictions that moderated our ability to grow our UK customer base during the financial year. However, the Bank has now returned to growth, with SME account openings more than tripling in April compared to the same period last year. Customer quality – as measured by activity levels and average balances – remains high.” 

Scaling Engine globally 

Engine by Starling, the Group’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, received £19.7 million of investment from the Group to expand its engineering resources and global footprint. Engine has now secured £70 million of committed annual recurring revenue and is on a pathway to surpassing £100 million in the near future. 

During the year Engine signed a new 10-year agreement with Tangerine, a subsidiary of Canada’s Scotiabank that boasts over 2 million underlying users and that is now Engine’s first client in North America. Engine then signed with New Zealand’s SBS Bank; its first mutual banking partner and its fourth client overall.

*The monthly average of customers crediting their account with £500 or more during the reporting period.

In the UK, Starling’s award-winning, fully-licensed bank provides personal, business and joint current accounts to millions of customers. Internationally, Engine by Starling provides the Group’s proprietary technology platform to likeminded banks as a SaaS proposition.