Struggling advanced materials group Versarien is in talks over the sale of its business and assets, with its cash runway now expected to last only until the end of October.
The AIM-listed graphene specialist has been battling financial headwinds for months, having warned in early 2025 that without new funding it could fail to meet its liabilities by mid-May.
By July, it described itself as on a ‘fragile financial footing’, disclosing cash reserves of £650,000.
At that time, chief executive Stephen Hodge insisted there were reasons for optimism despite the pressure.
“With our planned corporate restructuring, our strategy continues to be to monetise intellectual property including our know-how by being a manufacturing-light operation that licences Versarien’s technology and brands as commercial traction for graphene develops,” he said.
“Our pipeline of commercial opportunities currently stands at £2.1 million, up from the previously announced £1.6m as at October 2024.
“Although we remain dependent upon equity funding to continue as a going concern, the growing pipeline gives us optimism for the future growth and sustainability of the business.”
In August, the group moved to conserve cash by placing some subsidiaries, including Versarien Graphene Limited, into administration or voluntary liquidation, while continuing to explore equity funding options as asset disposals lagged.
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The Gloucestershire-based firm has now said it has considered multiple offers and is progressing discussions around one specific bid it believes could deliver the best outcome for shareholders and creditors.
Depending on the structure of the deal, the board may opt for either a solvent liquidation or to leave the company as an AIM Rule 15 cash shell – effectively a listed company with no operations, which must secure a new acquisition within six months or risk being delisted.
Any transaction would need approval from the UK Government’s Investment Screening Unit and Innovate UK, given the sensitive nature of its advanced materials business.
The firm floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2013 and its shares peaked five years later at around 187p.
Nearly seven years on, however, its market cap sits at under £1m and it has a share price of just 0.016p, having been below the penny mark for almost two years.
The company stressed it is not yet in administration but admitted it could only keep going until the end of October, relying on revenue from graphene sales and creditor cooperation.
It has also warned that ‘there is no certainty of successfully concluding any transaction’.
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