WeJo runs out of money – intends to file for administration
Manchester-headquartered tech company WeJo has filed an intention to enter administration.
The car data tracking business had been valued at $800m when it floated on the Nasdaq market in New York in November 2021.
The business currently employs around 275 people in Quay Street in Manchester, the same building as OpenMoney, which has been having problems of its own.
In a legal update to the NASDAQ market yesterday (30 May 2023) WeJo Group filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts in Manchester.
The Notice of Intent discloses the Company’s intention to appoint Andrew Poxon and Hilary Pascoe of Leonard Curtis Recovery Limited as administrators of Wejo Limited.
The company is now evaluating whether it will file ancillary insolvency proceedings in other jurisdictions.
American car giant General Motors invested in the business which last reported substantial losses of $159.3m for 2022.
In October Israeli auto-tech company Otonomo Technologies, also quoted on Nasdaq, held talks with Wejo about a possible merger.
A fundraising in July 2022 had secured a further $15.9m but the business didn’t appear to be any closer to monetising the vast amounts of vehicle tracking data it tracked and analysed despite partnerships with Ford and General Motors and traffic intelligence contracts with the Departments of Transportation for the states of Texas, Georgia and Virginia.
Shares have been suspended and an application has been made to the court to appoint administrators Andrew Poxon and Hilary Pascoe of Manchester’s Leonard Curtis Recovery.
When it completed a reverse takeover of New York-based Virtuoso Wejo raised $225.7m (£167.3m) in cash.
