Tech company behind NHS GP digital app faces collapse

GP at Babylon serves over 100,000 NHS patients. Credit: M4OS Photos/Alamy Stock Photo

Technology company NHS GP at Hand has warned it is on the brink of collapse as it launches a sale of its assets.

Babylon Health, which provides virtual appointments and the app for symptom screening, said it was looking to outsource «its UK business to third parties», including GP at Hand, which serves more than 100,000 NHS patients.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the company said it was exploring bailout options in both the US and the UK after a merger deal with Swiss healthcare tech company MindMaze fell apart.

Babylon warned that it might not be able to raise enough money «to fund the operations of the group's business», but it is expected that its UK division will continue to operate for the time being.

Once considered one of the UK's most promising startups, Babylon was listed in the US less than two years ago for $4bn (£3.1bn).

However, the company was forced into a restructuring deal in May after its share price plunged more than 99 percent, causing billions of dollars to drop in value.

Babylon stated that its owners are still looking for additional financing or a sale of shares. his business, but if that fails, he will consider «organized winding down».

The company said this could include filing for bankruptcy in the US or filing for administration in the UK. The company added that it plans to close its main US operation.

On Monday, several US-based Babylon employees posted on LinkedIn that they had lost their jobs.

Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported that Babylon was on the brink of bankruptcy after reports showed it would run out of cash within weeks.

The company was forced to turn to AlbaCore creditors for tens of millions of pounds as a bridge. funding, and Babylon now owes the lender over $300 million.

Babylon's IPO, completed in 2021 through a dedicated acquisition company, failed to raise as much funds as expected.

CEO Ali Parsa previously called swimming an «absolute disaster» and a «very big mistake».

Mr Parsa previously founded Circle Health, which operated private hospitals in the UK.< /p>

Babylon was launched in 2013 and soon became an NHS supplier.

The company was defended by Matt Hancock when he was health secretary, although Mr Parsa complained that her NHS work was not profitable.

Although Babylon made Mr. Parsa a paper billionaire when it went public, the business failed to turn a profit and spent hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

Annual Results 2022 Babylon Revenue was $1.1 billion and a net loss of $221 million.

The company has laid off hundreds of employees to cut costs.

It is hoped that Babylon will still be able to secure a deal to sell its UK division as its regulations say it is “looking into strategic alternatives to find the best possible outcome.»

It said: «Babylon remains focused on continuing the day-to-day operations of its business in the UK.»

Both Babylon and AlbaCore have abandoned comments.