Examiner appointed to embattled Irish med tech firm HealthBeacon

An interim examiner has been appointed to embattled Irish med-tech firm HealthBeacon, with its US partner agreeing to provide almost €2m in working capital facilities.

Earlier this month, shares in the stock market-listed firm were suspended on Dublin’s Euronext after they collapsed following confirmation from the company that it was running out of cash and would not be able to survive beyond the end of the month without a rescue.

Now, US firm Hamilton Beach Brands has committed up to €1.85m in working capital to the Irish group while it has court protection from creditors. HealthBeacon has 75 employees, of which 50 are based in Ireland. It is expected that about 20 staff members will be made redundant.

The petition for examinership came in “most unusual” circumstances, as “literally there is no more gas in the tank” for the company to financially support itself even during the 100-day period of court protection, said senior counsel Kelley Smith, on behalf of HealthBeacon’s directors.

The facility from Hamilton Beach Brands was predicated on an interim examiner being appointed and will be repaid before all other secured and unsecured debts in the event the examinership fails and the firm needs to be liquidated, Ms Smith told the court, adding that the debts are largely unsecured.

Shane McCarthy of KPMG was named interim examiner. The appointment as examiner will be confirmed on November 7.

HealthBeacon has developed a digital health platform aimed at improving patient support and ensuring they adhere to home injection regimes.

In a statement, HealthBeacon said it believes it can survive.

“The board believes that the company can stabilise, recover and emerge from this process as a going concern with the resultant preservation of jobs and will work closely with the examiner throughout the process,” it said.

In 2021, Hamilton Beach Brands and HealthBeacon entered into a strategic partnership to provide a smart injection care management system in the US and Canada.

The court heard HealthBeacon has a net asset position of €10m, with liabilities of €6.3m primarily due to trade creditors and general unsecured creditors. Taoglas, a Co Wexford firm, is the largest creditor, the court heard.

Nicholas O’Dwyer, of Grant Thornton, determined that HealthBeacon has a “reasonable prospect of survival” as a going concern if a successful rescue plan is put together. HealthBeacon has projected growth of 387pc from 2024 to 2026, the court heard.

In an interview with the Irish Independent earlier this year, HealthBeacon founder and former CEO Jim Joyce said the deal struck with the US company in 2021 would free up working capital at the Irish group. Mr Joyce stepped down as CEO in September.

HealthBeacon’s shares remain suspended on the stock exchange.

It raised €25m when it floated in Dublin in 2021, valuing at close to €100m. Its market capitalisation is now just over €1m.

Reporting On: www.independent.ie