Budget ISP Origin Broadband Looks to Appoint an Administrator UPDATE

The owner of the InfolinkGazette has reported that UK ISP Origin Broadband (company number 07486862), which back in 2018 had to be rescued by creditors after hitting problems with “substantial bad debts” (here), has filed a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator after racking up over £20m in losses.

Administration often occurs when a company, such as one that is in financial difficulty, is put into the hands of an administrator (Origin’s latest accounts do appear to point toward some financial stress). The administrator then decides whether they can help the company to continue running or sell it off for a good price.

During administration the company is protected from legal action by people or organisations who are owed money (creditors) and nobody can apply to wind up the company. Administration can also mean that the company doesn’t have to pay all its debts in full, but if deemed necessary, they can still be wound up. Ofcom also has a “supplier of last resort” process for tackling situations where an ISP collapses.

At the time of writing, The Gazette’s page for Origin (here) does not yet show that such a Notice of Intent has been filed (it can take several weeks for them to catch up with the courts). But Greg Connell, who is the founder of the InfolinkGazette, which proclaims itself to be a publisher of “rich insolvency information“, has publicly reported that such an intention was filed in the High Court on 23rd August 2021.

Greg Connell, MD of InfolinkGazette, said:

“Origin are one of many smaller broadband providers that are competing with the big players like BT or Virgin Media, and racked up over £22 million of accumulated losses”.

We asked Origin about this and got the following response.

A Spokesperson for Origin Broadband said:

“The company has undertaken a formal process for new investment, and is at an advanced stage of discussions with a number of interested parties.”

In the meantime, we note that two of Origin’s key Directors, Oliver Joseph Bryssau and Andrew Paul Simpson, last year helped to setup another telecommunications company called Consumer Choices Limited (company number 12563238).

Consumer Choices Limited exists within the same postcode as Origin (S63 7EF is registered to both), but appears to offer a broadband and energy comparison service. The same postcode is linked to the ezeee.co.uk comparison site, which includes Origin as one of its ISPs.

In addition, Origin Broadband’s website now makes reference to another ‘Origin’ company called ‘Origin Broadband Services‘ (company number 12091431), which was setup in 2019 (Origin Broadband Ltd. was setup in 2011) at the same postcode as the others and has the same two directors.

Elsewhere, Ofcom said that Origin had not yet formally flagged their situation to the regulator.

UPDATE 6:55am

The High Court case number for the NOI appears to be CR-2021-LDS-000381.

UPDATE 8th September 2021

Greg Connell has noted that Origin Broadband filed another Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator in the High Court yesterday (7th Sept). “Clearly the directors were unable to clear all the hurdles and get the Administrator appointment over the line, which normally indicates a problem with creditors, shareholders or charge holders. The company is controlled by Faro Capital Ltd, who not surprisingly hold a fixed and floating charge,” added Greg.