ALL jobs have been lost after a pioneering dental technology firm in Edinburgh has fallen into administration.
Calcivis Limited, which the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) committed £5 million to before the company’s collapse, was recognised as a pioneer in the dental diagnostic technology industry.
However, David McGinness and Judith Howson, of AAB Business & Tax Advisory, were appointed as joint administrators on Thursday last week, as first reported by The Herald.
The administration said despite the firm receiving mulit-million-pounds in financial backing from public and private investors it was “unable to scale its commercialisation to build a sustainable business”.
They added that “despite the progress made by the business and the quality of its underlying technology, the company was unable to bridge to profitability sufficiently quickly and continued to experience pressure on cash flow”.
A spokesperson for the administrators said that although there was interest in the company and its technology, ultimately they were unable to sell the firm and they then had to make the “difficult decision” to close down its operations.
They said: “Prior to the appointment, the directors undertook an accelerated marketing process to seek a sale of the business and assets.
“While there was interest in the company and its technology, no deliverable solvent sale or funding solution was capable of being completed within the available timeframe.
“Mindful of their duties and responsibilities to creditors, the directors therefore took the difficult decision to cease to trade and seek the appointment of administrators.”
Calcivis employed nine people in 2024, according to Companies House.
The spokesperson said that administrators are now “assessing the company’s position” and will seek to “realise the remaining assets for the benefit of creditors”.
They added that creditors will be contacted by the joint administrators’ office in due course.
The administrators will also “provide affected employees at this difficult time with information and support to enable them to submit claims for any statutory entitlements, including arrears of pay, holiday pay, notice pay and redundancy pay, where applicable, through the Redundancy Payments Service”.
SNIB committed £5m to the firm, with £4.6m of which had already been drawn down, according to reports.
However, £4.5m of the bank’s exposure was accounted for in its recent annual report.
A SNIB spokesperson said: “Despite the market potential of its innovative dental diagnostic device, regrettably, Calcivis has filed for administration.
“The bank worked with Calcivis and other stakeholders to support its commercialisation efforts and later to explore a potential partnership or sale to realise the full benefits of the technology.
“Risk is inherent in all investments, and as Scotland’s development bank, we were mandated to take on higher risk than other commercial investors in order to fill an identified gap in the Scottish funding landscape. Some failures are inevitable, and our strategy is based on the entire portfolio over the long term.
“The bank made a provision for the potential closure of the company in its recent annual report and accounts as part of its unrealised losses.”
