Emoov founder Russell Quirk yesterday described a story in the Mail on Sunday as “full of exaggeration” and “fake news”.
The piece alleged that investors chipping into a crowdfunding round had not been told that Emoov “was losing £3m a month before its collapse”.
The story went on to claim: “A report by the administrators reveals the firm lost £15m in the five months to September 2018 after its audacious £100m three-way merger with Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo and Urban.”
But Quirk said that the story – run under the headline ‘Emoov did not reveal £15m loss to investors’ – could only be true “if we were capable of time travel”.
He said: “The Mail on Sunday criticised the business, saying that ‘it did not inform investors of losses to September’.
“The crowdfunding campaign was launched in June.
“So, tell me how we could have informed anyone of something that was three months away from happening?”
Quirk said: “For the record, the £15m is nothing like the actual figure for the period from the merger’s completion to the end of September.
“The formal management accounts show a much, much lower number.
“But hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.
“The article is ridiculous in its very premise that we could ‘declare’ anything in June that related to the later month of September.
“This is the very embodiment of fake news.”
The Mail on Sunday story says that Emoov was sold last month by administrators James Cowper Kreston to Mashroom for £232,500 plus VAT.
According to papers lodged at Companies House, the administrators expect to declare a dividend to secured and preferential creditors, and a dividend to unsecured creditors pursuant to S176A of the Insolvency Act. Total preferential creditors are calculated to be owed £219,606.
The administrators also report that at the time of entering administration, Emoov had 2,400 active customers – people with their homes on the market, or whose homes were sold subject to contract. They also report that North Shell Ventures had a charge over the company under which they were owed £2.5m.
Trade creditors total some £1.6m, and taxation around £350,000. Creditors listed include Rightmove, owed £12,564, and Metropix, owed £3,384.
Sounds like it’s getting a little hot for Mr Quirk.
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“Fake”? ……Russell?
Yes …..You Are!
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In my opinion, he most likely felt the investors were pot committed and would keep topping up until an IPO to get their ROI.
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Clearly Mr Q wants to pour water onto the flames but even if the loss is post the crowd funding you do not just start losing £3m a month, he must have noticed that expenditure and income were poles apart!
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If there’s nothing to hide, then why have Crowdcube just deleted the entire raise from their site?
https://www.crowdcube.com/companies/emoov-co-uk
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Thats the first time i’ve looked at a crowd funding site….is that all the information you get before putting money in? Turnover, no figure at all????
Agree with the above, Mr Quirk must now be feeling the pressure and crowdcube the same. This wildwest way of raising money for cowboy companies has to stop.
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No shame ,Quirk still wriggling even though the sad story of Emoov is there to see at Companies House for all to view but he is still in denial Desperate to bury this bad news so he can peddle his wares as a spin merchant .What a story he can spin !
This is someone who the industry have allowed to be a flagbearer
Always keen to blame others for Emoov’s demise He hired the wrong people ,an investor let me down .The boy who cried Wolf
Poor Crowdcube investors thinking they were joining into a potential £100m company destined for an IPO now finding out their hard earned monies were just to keep the lights on for a few months and Quirk to crack open a celebratory bottle of champagnewhen their monies were safely gathered in
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07118826/filing-history
On Feb 9th the administrator has laid bare in a statement the awful facts
£14.5m of unsecured creditors .Customers fees paid up front- £1.5m lost Some had even took out loans with Shawbrook Bank to pay Emoov
Pay cheap,pay twice !!
Over£10m of losses cranked up by 2017
£15m loss in 5 months since the fanciful “£100m” merger in April
“Assets”sold
Mashroom £232k .
The jewel in the crown Urban .co.uk bought themselves back for £35k !!
£100m to less than £300k in 5months
Must be a record
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“This is someone who the industry have allowed to be a flagbearer” a few of us have always struggled to see the cloth and threads so fine they’re invisible to fools.
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Hillofwad71…..
Reading through Companies House Documents?
I felt dizzy, like you do when you are watching a myriad of plates spinning in the air, just waiting ……and waiting.
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Just home in on FILING HISTORY dated Feb 9th on the link The administrator has penned a chronology of events illustrating the whole cash burn story of Emoov Quirk certainly has some neck in trying to infer that the DM journo is somehow wide of the mark
Its actually even worse that the DM paints
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If fools and money are easily parted, who’s the fool in this utterly laughable tale?
It’s not Quirk’s money that’s been poured down the investment drain, buyer beware anybody?
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Good investments are kept close and kept tight, reducing the dilution of the investment provides opportunity for greater rewards for those who have invested.
The question everyone should have been asking; why is a £100m firm crowd funding? Mr Desmond probably has the sort of money they were trying to raise down the back of his sofa.
If Mr Quirk is suggesting the £15m burn all happened after the crowdfunding campaign, I’d suggest that’s even worse than not declaring the full financial predicament at the time of the raise.
Yeah but, no but…. I have to say it all sounds a bit Vicky Pollard.
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So, he had no cash flow forecasts in June then giving him a clue! Riiiiiiight .
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The administrators clealry highlighted that the £15m loss was 5 months up to September which therefore was May-September…… seems to me that the losses were visible enough indeed.
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In my day it was Dr Who now it’s Dr Q
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This is one of those stories that one has to be careful about one’s comments.
He seems to be getting plenty of air time though – Phoenix style.
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Quirky quote “But hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.”
Surely the quote of the decade in relation to all online portals ?
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Homeowners Alliance are very tight lipped about this story. Can’t think why…? #innocentface
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I understand that the Daily Mail Group were Investors in Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo, I don’t imagine we have heard the last of this? Once the forensic accountants have finished their work, the truth will out!
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Bigbee The initial daming report is already sitting there on public record at Companies House to read with the grotesque figures of this Quirk vanity project .They have a duty to report Directors if appropriate to the authorties to ascertain whether they are”fit and proper “to run companies
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“But Quirk said… “if we were capable of time travel”.”
How’s about we all try a bit of time-travel – stepping back, in this instance, to September 2015:
https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/eye-reader-tries-to-sleep-with-the-enemy-but-gets-kicked-out-of-bed/
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Another useless opinion
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Another useless post.
Change the record, sweetums… you’ve become stale.
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Hard to imagine that Emoov were unaware of the massive negative cash flow at the time of the fundraising.
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