By Charlie Conchie
An events start-up that has received funding from the taxpayer-backed Future Fund is on the verge of collapse just months after it bagged a $150m funding injection, according to reports today.
Pollen, which has sold travel experience with Justin Bieber and Duran Duran, has been searching for rescue cash but could call in administrators as soon as Wednesday, Sky News reported today.
Goldman Sachs has previously been called in to help find a buyer, but hopes have reportedly faded in recent days.
The firm has reportedly failed to pay staff and bosses have now lined up restructuring firm Kroll to oversee the prospective insolvency.
It comes just four months after Pollen raised $150m in a series C funding round in a move it said would allow it to expand.
Pollen is also backed by the Future Fund launched by then-chancellor Rishi Sunak during the pandemic.
A collapse of the firm will add to the woes of the Future Fund after a director of the £1.1bn fund was reported to have admitted it has largely backed “zombie businesses” which have a “limited chance of growth to a sufficient scale for success”.
Pollen was contacted for comment.
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