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An operator which helps restaurants utilise spare food production capacity is on the brink of collapse, underlining mounting financial pressure on the ‘dark kitchens’ sector.
Sky News has learnt that Kbox Global, which launched in 2019, has placed insolvency experts on standby after a new injection of funding fell through.
City sources said that Interpath Advisory had been lined up to act as administrators to Kbox, with a filing possible as early as this week.
Insolvency could yet be averted if backers willing to invest more money emerge in the coming days, according to one source.
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Kbox was hit by the sudden exit last year of Salima Vellani, who is said to have stunned investors by leaving the company with little notice of her plans.
The company, which was set up to help kitchens use live data to respond to local food delivery demand, has raised tens of millions of pounds from investors since its launch.
Among its shareholders are respected venture capital funds such as Balderton Capital, an early backer of Revolut, and Hoxton Ventures, which has backed a string of British unicorns, including Darktrace and Deliveroo.
Kbox has worked with brands including SuperRico, a Mexican street food operator, and MrBeast Burger, which was launched by Jimmy Donaldson, a prominent YouTube personality.
Its likely demise comes amid financial challenges facing numerous dark kitchen operators, many of which have raised enormous amounts of capital to meet growing demand that failed to materialise.
A dark kitchen is a food business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering. It is a separate entity that operates out of an existing restaurant’s kitchen.
Kbox could not be reached for comment on Monday.
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