Wejo Limited - Case Update

Andrew Poxon and Hilary Pascoe of Leonard Curtis, the Joint Administrators of Wejo Limited, a Manchester-headquartered vehicle data tracking company, have revealed that a last-minute condition inserted into an agreement by a potential investor pushed the company into administration.

Wejo was founded in 2013 to develop and promote the use of cutting-edge technology using big data, telematics and mobile data primarily sourced from connected vehicles. It has historically incurred operating losses and relied on private equity to fund its operations.

In January 2023, the Wejo Group announced an agreement to combine with a technologies investment trust funder (“Investor 1”), which was due to complete in August 2023. The Group believed this transaction had the potential to raise up to $100 million, but continued to source additional short-term bridge funding in the meantime. It ultimately struck a deal with a well-known tech company (“Investor 2”) for a $7 million investment. The parties entered into a letter of intent, which was publicly filed in the USA on Form 8-K, and engaged in due diligence and negotiations. News of the deal also led to investment interest from other potential investors of approximately $42 million.

Due diligence was completed and the parties signed funding documentation on 16 May 2023, which was held in escrow with the expectation that the transaction would be completed that day. At this point, Investor 2 introduced a new condition - that the Group secure an additional investor to match Investor 2’s investment. This new condition put immense pressure on the Group, which worked hard to meet the additional terms and was close to securing additional funding.

On 26 May 2023, Investor 2 pulled out of the transaction, citing an issue that had arisen during diligence. The Group reached out to other key investors, who were unwilling to proceed quickly without additional information on the reason for the change. As Wejo was reliant on the funds pledged by Investor 2 to continue trading, and was unable to make payroll on 31 May 2023, the directors resolved to place the company into administration. A notice of intention to appoint an administrators was initially filed on 30 May 2023, and the Joint Administrators were ultimately appointed on 10 July 2023.

No sale had been agreed at the time of the filing and all 150 staff were made redundant on the Joint Administrators’ appointment. The Joint Administrators are now re-marketing the company’s business and assets for sale, and have instructed Atlas Technology Group to assist in this regard.

The Joint Administrators have also been assisted by Leonard Curtis (legal advice), Cerberus Asset Management (tangible asset valuation advice), Hilco Streambank (intangible asset valuation advice) and Evolve (handling of employee claims), among others. Their proposals can be found HERE.