LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
IT’S FINALLY HERE OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE GRENADIER P17 TUESDAY 4 APRIL 2023
CITYAM.COM
ISSUE 3,961
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Gross profit Operating expenses Impairment loss
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31 December
2020
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6,7 8
10,532 (1,066)
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9,466 (43,373) —
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(33,907)
10 10
305 (2,183)
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(1,878)
11
(35,785) 1,453
(34,332)
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NIGEL LAWSON DIES AGED 91 FULL STORY ON CITYAM.COM
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3,872
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(30,460)
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_ AT WANDISCO 1TXX UJW XMFWJ Basic and diluted loss per share
12
CEO OUT AS FIRM LOOKS TO TURN PAGE AFTER SALES OF $115M DISAPPEAR The notes on pages 65 to 90 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
CHARLIE CONCHIE AND LAURA MCGUIRE THE CHIEF executive and finance boss of troubled tech firm Wandisco have stepped down as the firm looks to move on from an accounting debacle. The firm has seen its shares suspended for around a month after telling markets it had discovered “irregularities” in its accounts. The tech darling told markets yesterday
that those irregularities included $115m (£93m) worth of sales bookings now written off as false, with an investigation by FRP advisory ongoing. “The results of the independent investigation to date continue to support the initial view that the irregularities are as a result of the actions of one senior sales employee,” Wandisco said.
Wandisco said the pair’s exit is not related to FRP’s findings but the future of the business would best be pursued under “new leadership”. Kenneth Lever will assume the role of executive chairman pending the conclusion of a formal process to appoint a new chief executive and Ijoma Maluza will take the role of interim chief
financial officer, effective from 11 April. “Over the years David [Richards] (pictured) and Erik have contributed significant time and effort to establishing and developing Wandisco,” Lever said. Richards was previously ousted as boss in 2016, before being returned by shareholders within a week. In an interview earlier this year, he compared being booted from the top job as “the same mental process” as a death in the family.
FREE GLOBAL VISA SCHEME
Tech talent visa set to continue CHARLIE CONCHIE A NEW BODY is set to take over management of the feted tech talent visa programme from Tech Nation after the start-up group closed its doors at the end of March, the Home Office has confirmed. Start-up quango Tech Nation announced in January it would wind down after the department for Culture, Media and Sport controversially pulled its funding and handed it to Barclays. The move had sparked fears over the future of the body’s Global Talent Visa, which it ran on behalf of the Home Office to ensure talent could flow into the sector from overseas. However, in an update, ministers said that the scheme would continue under new stewardship. The statement added that the Home Office would look to “minimise disruption to those applying for the visa while a new endorsing body takes over from Tech Nation” and a further update would be made “in the coming weeks”. It is not yet clear what organisations will be in the running to take on the management of the visa programme. Dom Hallas, boss of tech trade body Coadec, told City A.M. it was “great” news in the interim but start-ups need a long-term answer.
Another lesson for GoHenry users: When the offer’s good, make sure you take it CHARLIE CONCHIE BRITISH kids' finance firm GoHenry has been snapped up by US investing app Acorns in a deal that will see its financial education tools rolled out to millions of new customers on the other side of the Atlantic. GoHenry, co-founded by City
A.M.’s entrepreneur of the year Louise Hill (pictured) in 2012 and named after its first 11-year-old customer, has been touted as a positive force in UK fintech with a money management focus for 6-18 year olds. The tie-up with California-based Acorns will now create a merged
customer base of some six million “kids, teens and adults”, the firms said in a joint statement. Hill told City A.M. yesterday that there had never been a more “salient time to expand” as rising prices on both sides of the Atlantic squeeze spending power. “Easy-to-use products that make
savings, learning about money and investment easy to access for everyday people – there really couldn't be a more timely moment,” she said. Hill, who now serves as GoHenry’s chief operating officer, said it would be “business as usual” after
the merger and the firm’s top team will stay on. She declined to disclose the value of the deal. A funding round last year valued Acorn, which made its first foray into kids’ finance in 2020, at a very healthy $1.9bn (£1.5bn).
INSIDE BRITAIN’S FIRST UNICORN OF 2023 P3 CALLS HEIGHTEN FOR WINDFALL TAX PRICE FLOOR P5 OIL PRICES SURGE P7 THE NOTEBOOK P8 MARKETS P13 OPINION P14-P15