Wonga set to appoint Grant Thornton as administrator

The firm had received £10m in emergency cash at the start of August from existing investors, including Accel Partners and Balderton Capital. The emergency fundraising was said to have valued the company at just £23m. In 2012, a potential float led to market speculation it could be worth in excess of £1bn.

Wonga has had a long list of backers. Its series-C was held in 2011 and was backed by Dawn Capital, Meritech, Oak Investment Partners and the Wellcome Trust, which exited two years later.

In 2009 it raised $22m from Accel, Greylock Partners, Balderton and Dawn, while in 2007 Balderton provided $6m of concept funding.

Debt provider Kreos Capital has financed the company since 2007. Its most recent investment was a €30m facility provided in 2016.

Wonga said its troubles were due to a significant increase in people making claims in relation to historic loans, which costs it £550 per claim regardless of the outcome. It made a loss of £67m in 2016, according to its latest publicly available accounts, down from £80m in 2015.  

Its overseas business will continue to trade and is not part of the administration process. The Financial Conduct Authority said customers should continue to make outstanding payments and that all existing agreements remain in place.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Financials
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Balderton Capital
• Access Capital Partners
• Dawn Capital
• Greylock Partners
• Grant Thornton