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# Orka Technology Group
- URL: https://entrepreneurplus.co.uk/graveyard/orka-technology-group/
- Published: 2026-10-21T11:10:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T11:29:51.000Z
- Description: Shift-work hiring and earned-wage app, Manchester; administration after funding dried up, Mar 2024
- Author: Editorial Desk
- Tags: #ep-grave

✝ Startup · Administration · 15 March 2024 

Shift-work hiring and earned-wage app, Manchester; administration after funding dried up, Mar 2024

Companies House

[11790747](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11790747?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk) · Dissolved on 20 June 2026

How it ended

Administration

Ended

15 March 2024

Founded

2016

Sector

HR & Future of Work

Based in

Manchester

Funding raised

£33.7M

Backed by

Maven Capital Partners, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, British Business Bank Future Fund, Praetura Ventures, Peter Searle

Last known website

[orka.works](https://orka.works/?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)

Last checked

21 October 2026

## What happened

Orka Technology Group, launched in 2016 as Broadstone by James Doyle, Nick Groves and Tom Pickersgill, built a platform for temporary shift workers in security, cleaning and facilities management. Orka Works let workers find and apply for shifts and pass background checks, Orka Pay gave early access to half their earnings after a shift and Orka Check stored vetting data; customers included G4S, ISS and OCS. It raised from Maven and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, announced a £29m round in 2021 that mixed Sonovate debt with Future Fund equity, and took £3m from Praetura Ventures in 2022\. Growth with large customers stalled as the economy slowed and new capital became harder to raise; a co-founder resigned as a director in late 2023\. On 15 March 2024 Lisa Moxon and Christopher Barrett of Dow Schofield Watts were appointed administrators of Orka Works Ltd and Orka Pay Ltd, with 24 jobs at risk. The companies were dissolved in June 2026.

## Why

- Could not raise the next round
- Demand fell away

## What happened to the assets, customers and team

Dow Schofield Watts Business Recovery was appointed to Orka Works Ltd and Orka Pay Ltd on 15 March 2024 with 24 jobs at risk; no buyer for the business was reported. Orka Works Ltd and the holding company Orka Technology Group Ltd were both dissolved on 20 June 2026.

## Lessons

Headline rounds can flatter: Orka's £29m 2021 raise was largely a debt facility to fund worker pay advances, not equity runway. When enterprise customers slowed and follow-on capital dried up in 2023, a business with 24 staff and three products had little to fall back on.

## Sources

1. [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11790747?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)
2. [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10396842?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)
3. [thegazette.co.uk](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4585736?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)
4. [thegazette.co.uk](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4585734?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)
5. [businesscloud.co.uk](https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/orka-technology-group-the-rise-and-fall/?ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)
6. [prolificnorth.co.uk](https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/?p=95661&ref=entrepreneurplus.co.uk)

✓ Verified by EP+ Every Graveyard entry is checked against Companies House and the sources above, and re-checked periodically. Spotted an error or a company that has been rescued? [Tell us](mailto:info@entrepreneurplus.co.uk?subject=Graveyard%20correction%3A%20Orka%20Technology%20Group).

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