A Manchester firm which was originally launched by the founder of Moneysupermarket.com has announced a number of potential redundancies.
Some staff members at Open Money, based in Manchester city centre, have been told they won't receive their salary today (April 28), after the company was taken over by new owners.
The business was set up to provide more accessible and affordable financial advice in 2016, by Duncan Cameron, the co-founder of Moneysupermarket.com.
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Mr Cameron, who has previously appeared on the Sunday Times UK Rich List, set up the company with business partner Anthony Morrow - who left the firm in 2020 before returning at the start of the year.
Moneysupermarket.com was launched by Cameron and Simon Nixon in 1987. By 2015, Cameron was said to be among the wealthiest 25 people in Britain, worth around £132 million.
His newer venture, Open Money, had been in difficulty for some time, with financial accounts on Companies House from December 2021 showing the company had made a loss of over £8 million for that financial year.
One employee, who'd worked for the firm for a number of years, told the Manchester Evening News he'd received an email from bosses this week informing them the company had been taken over, and that they would see a delay to their April pay cheque.
They said he would likely be left out of pocket until the new owner's paid their salary, or they were able to find a new job.
The M.E.N understands that the company has been sold to entrepreneurs Will Mallard and Patrick Leahy. Mr Mallard describes himself as a social impact investor while Mr Leahy is a UK director of DeepInspire and co-founder of Geissen and Elva.
It is also understood that OpenMoney's founders are to remain as minority shareholders in the business.
A statement from the new owners said: "The restructuring proposals, once agreed, will likely involve a number of operational redundancies after consultation.
"This is deemed necessary in order to ensure the successful and sustainable future of the business and its client facing operations – OpenMoney Adviser Services and WorkLife by OpenMoney.
"Sadly, as a result of the seriousness of the situation, payment of salaries for a number of members of staff across the business has been delayed pending legal and professional advice.
"The pair bought the business with the express intention to grow it. The proposed restructure, while difficult because of the impact on those members of staff whose roles will be made redundant, is essential if the business is to fulfil its potential for stellar growth.
"It is important to stress that there is no impact to clients as a result of the proposed changes."
Speaking to the M.E.N, Anthony Morrow said he was "upset" to learn that some members of staff would not be paid their salary for April, and that he had returned to the business at the start of the year to help find news investors.
Duncan Cameron has been approached for comment.
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