UK-listed online gambling technology provider Nektan Plc is entering administration once again after failing to find enough cash to keep its operations going.
On Tuesday, Nektan issued a notice that it had requested a halt in trading of its shares on the UK’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), “pending clarification of the company’s financial position.” Shortly thereafter, the company announced that it had “failed to secure the necessary funds for the requisite additional working capital necessary to secure the future of the Company.”
As a result of this financing shortfall, Nektan said it had “commenced the process in the Gibraltar courts to seek to appoint an administrator, whose appointment is expected to be effective later today.”
Trading in Nektan’s shares was previously halted in January after the company failed to file its 2019 financial report on schedule, with the company’s ongoing restructuring efforts cited as the chief cause of the delay. A court then assigned PCR London execs the job of administrating Nektan Gibraltar, leading to the sale of Nektan’s B2C operations to Grace Media Ltd.
Following that sale, Nektan released its annual report, which showed pre-tax losses increasing to £6.4m in 2019, which the company blamed on £2.8m in restructuring costs. The company noted its annual revenue was on the rise thanks to growth in its B2B operations and optimistically projected that it would reach a breakeven point by mid-2020.
Last month, Nektan released its figures for the six months ending December 31, during which revenue from continuing operations more than doubled to £797k while pre-tax losses improved slightly to £2.92m.
At the time, founder Gary Shaw, who was handed the CEO reins following Lucy Buckley’s resignation last August, claimed that “a strong pipeline of partner launches” was due to take place “over the next 2-3 months.” These launches would “significantly transform the revenue profile” of the company based on higher margins.
However, that optimism was tempered by an admission that the company “faces material uncertainty as to the impact of COVID-19 on its business, including the possible consequential impact arising from how key stakeholders, including partners and suppliers, are able to respond.”
