Events start-up Pollen on brink of collapse months after $150m fundraising

A taxpayer-backed events start-up that has sold travel experiences featuring Duran Duran and Justin Bieber is on the brink of collapse just months after raising $150m in fresh funding.

Sky News has learnt that Pollen, which has been scrambling to find a rescue deal for weeks, could crash into administration as soon as Wednesday.

City sources said that hopes of finding a buyer had faded in recent days.

Pollen, which is backed by the government’s Future Fund, has failed to pay staff as it lurched towards disaster.

Kroll, the restructuring firm, has been lined up to oversee the prospective insolvency.

Sky News revealed last month that Pollen had drafted in Goldman Sachs in an effort to find a buyer.

Pollen’s backers include some of the biggest names in venture capital investing, such as Northzone and Lansdowne Partners, the hedge fund.

The company partners with music event promoters such as Live Nation and Electric Zoo to create exclusive packages for its customers.

It also works with upmarket hotel operators, restaurants and nightclubs.

Founded in 2014 by brothers Callum and Liam Negus-Fancey, the company had maintained that it was close to securing its future through a deal with an unnamed strategic investor.

The Daily Telegraph reported at the weekend that Pollen had been served with a winding-up petition by a creditor, but quoted a spokesman as saying that the debt had been settled.

Pollen did not return calls seeking comment, while Kroll declined to comment.