The UK operating companies of Stenn Technologies, which said it was valued at US$900 million in 2022, were placed into administration on Dec 4.
The filing came after a unit of HSBC became concerned about potential irregularities it discovered in some of the firm’s transactions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified while discussing non-public issues.
Stenn’s founder and CEO Greg Karpovsky left the country last week, according to some of the people familiar with the matter.
He attended an all-company call last Wednesday via video link but his location was unclear to employees, some of the people said.
A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment, while Karpovsky did not respond to LinkedIn messages requesting comment.
A spokesman for Interpath, whose staff were appointed as Stenn’s administrators last week, declined to comment beyond an earlier statement on the appointment.
Launched in 2015, Stenn offered funding to small businesses by acquiring bills they were owed, known as invoice financing.
The London-based firm attracted a number of well-heeled backers: Centerbridge Partners LP invested US$50 million into the company in a funding round in 2022, pushing the company’s valuation to near unicorn status, according to a press release at the time.
A spokesman for Centerbridge, the US$38-billion investment giant led by co-founder Jeffrey Aronson, didn’t immediately comment.
Citigroup Inc began working with Stenn in 2022 to finance businesses throughout supply chains, while senior lenders that have participated in securitisation programmes the firm used to fund its lending include Barclays Plc, Natixis and Crayhill Capital Management LP, according to press releases issued by Stenn in recent years.
Spokesmen for Citigroup and Crayhill declined to comment, while spokesmen for Barclays and Natixis didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
HSBC Innovation Bank, formerly Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm, provided Stenn with a revolving credit facility, according to documents filed at Companies House.
Stenn’s website said that it had financed more than 800 businesses with over US$20 billion.
It was named as one of CNBC’s top 250 global fintech companies in July.