SpinVox Takes £30 Million Loan, Leaked Accounts Claim Losses Growing
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The Sunday Times says it’s got a copy of SpinVox’s 2008 financial results. That’s quite a feat - the accounts have not yet been filed and, we understand, are at the centre of allegations, brought by ex staff, over the voice-to-text firm’s use of finances.
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What’s in the accounts? A pre-tax loss that, at £49 million, is 32.4 percent higher than the previous year’s loss. Bear in mind - it was in March 2008 that SpinVox raised its second $100 million; the paper says that “underscores how quickly the company has burnt through cash”. But the report also says sales grew five times to £10 million.
CEO Christina Domecq last month told paidContent:UK SpinVox would be cashflow- and EBITDA-positive within 90 days.
What’s also become clear is that, in addition to securing over £15 million in emergency funding this month, SpinVox also last month took a £30 million “mezzanine” bridging loan from the Tisbury fund management house, due to be repaid by December. If our sums are correct, that’s about £60 million raised in the last 18 months. Domecq has explained that company finances are being pressured by late payments from clients in the credit crunch and by roll-outs in new Latin America territories - but that’s a lot of money to spend on deploying an algorithm, engaging call centre workers and installing technology with carriers.
It’s impossible to say at present whether The Sunday Times’ figure is accurate - the filing of SpinVox’s accounts is likely bound up with the company’s own investigation in to which former staff send a dossier of claims to shareholders.
Meanwhile, SpinVox’s social media comms person James Whatley is leaving. TechCrunch UK earlier this month mistakenly published a draft story reporting the news ahead of time.
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