A Bristol-headquartered subsea and offshore wind tech company has fallen into administration with the loss of more than 160 jobs.
Beam was formed in September through the merger of offshore inspection systems business Rovco and sister firm Vaarst, and also had offices in Edinburgh and Westhill, in Aberdeenshire.
The company described itself as a "leading deep technology company", which used AI and underwater robots to service offshore wind farms.
Rovco (trading as Beam) appointed David Shambrook and Damian Webb of RSM º£½ÇÊÓƵ Restructuring Advisory last week after an unsuccessful equity raise and failing to complete an accelerated sale of its business and assets last month.
Of the company's 195 employees, 162 were made redundant following the appointment of the administrators.
According to latest accounts on Companies House, Rovco made a loss of £8.1m in 2023, following an £8.7m loss the year before.
Since launching in 2015, Rovco and Vaarst had raised close to £50m from investors including Foresight Group, Equinor, through Equinor Ventures, and US defence sector investor IQT.
Last year, Vaarst announced plans to hire 50 tech specialists in Bristol as part of "explosive growth" ambitions that included recruiting 200 staff globally by the end of 2025.
The proposals included 25 staff in the US to support agreements with firms such as industry giant Orsted, and 10 in Asia.
The company had operations across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Irish seas, Europe, Japan, and the US, working with some of the world’s biggest offshore wind operators.
In 2022, Rovco agreed a major partnership deal with Japanese wind turbine inspection firm Horizon Ocean Management, and a deal to carry out inspections of a Dutch offshore wind farm development. This was followed by a successful Series B fundraise of £15.2m.
It is understood the administrators are currently exploring different options to maximise returns for creditors and preserve jobs where possible, according to the company.
