Gilbert: joined as chairman in November (pic: Terry Murden)

Challenger bank Revolut, now chaired by Scottish fund manager Martin Gilbert, is being valued at £3.8 billion ($5bn), according to the investor leading its forthcoming funding round.

Investor Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) , an early backer of Netflix, Airbnb and Spotify, told Financial News that a funding round will close this month and will leave the digital bank with a valuation nearly three times its last estimated valuation of £1.3bn in April 2018.

However, the latest estimate falls short of CEO Nikolay Storonsky’s hoped-for valuation of between £5bn and £6bn.

TCV has raised a £2.3bn fund dedicated to fast-growth tech companies.

Revolut hired JPMorgan last year to oversee a $500 million (£380m) equity raise and $1 billion convertible loan, in a move that would bring the total funding raised by the loss-making firm to almost $2 billion.

The search for new capital followed a global deal with Visa that would see the fintech bank move into 24 new markets and boost staff numbers to 3,500.

Revolut increased revenue by 354% in 2018, although losses doubled to £33m.