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Lavish spending reportedly crashed UK startup Powa

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

October 31, 2016 | 2 min read

Smartphone payment company Powa was once one of the UK’s leading startups but its bankruptcy earlier this year has been blamed upon the lavish spending of its founder Dan Wagner, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Powa

Powa

The company surprisingly went bankrupt in February, with the report blaming Wagner’s “overspending on lavish offices and partying”.

The fallout around the startup's failure continues to fall, as billions of dollars were lost upon its failure.

Boston’s Wellington Management asset firm plowed $197 million into Powa from 2013 to 2015, boosting the company’s value to just shy of $3bn.

Wagner claims the company was just months from success before the asset management firm and a board member tried to seize control of the company.

A spokesperson for the fund denied any part in its downfall: "[We were] at all times focused on serving the best interests of our clients in the face of what turned out to be a failed business model.”

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