42 Jobs Lost as pureLiFi Enters Administration Following £35 Million Investment
Scottish telecoms firm pureLiFi Limited, which developed an alternative wireless technology to WiFi and 5G, entered administration on 31 August 2026, leading to the redundancy of all 42 staff at its Leith, Edinburgh, head office after failing to secure further development capital.
Kenny Craig and Kevin Mapstone of BTG were appointed joint administrators by the company’s directors.
The company, established in 2012 by Professor Harald Haas, was at the forefront of a new, super-secure light-based wireless communications technology.
Professor Haas remained a director of the business. pureLiFi had transitioned into manufacturing products based on its own ‘LiFi’ technology and intellectual property.
Since its inception, pureLiFi Limited is understood to have attracted more than £35 million in investment from over a dozen investors, funds and banks. Despite this significant backing and the innovative nature of its technology, the firm was unable to achieve profitability, ultimately leading to its financial difficulties.
Thomas McKay, managing partner of BTG in Scotland and Northern Ireland, commented on the situation, highlighting the challenges faced by the pioneering company.
“The firm had received significant investment from numerous sources over the years, and despite creating products and generating revenue with some groundbreaking proprietary wireless technology, the business simply ran out of money before it could cross into profitability.”
Mr McKay further explained that a change in strategy contributed to the firm’s escalating costs. “A strategic shift into manufacturing its own hardware, rather than licensing its globally patented technology to third-party manufacturers, was more costly than initially anticipated. By the end of Q2 2026 the business had simply run out of cash flow and was seeking sources of additional investment needed to cover losses until the business crossed into profitability.”
The inability to secure this crucial additional funding left the directors with no alternative but to appoint administrators.
“With no further investment forthcoming, the directors were left with no alternative than to appoint administrators to stop the company’s debts rising, and sadly that has led to the immediate redundancy of all 42 employees at the business.”
The BTG team is now focused on assisting the affected employees and realising value from the company’s assets.
Mr McKay stated, “Our team is working closely with those affected to help them access the financial entitlements and support available to them, including assistance from Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) and the Redundancy Payments Service.”
He added, “In addition to ensuring these employees receive the guidance and advice they need during this process, our priority is to identify any business assets and realise maximum value from their sale, especially the valuable intellectual property assets built up over the years of development, to the benefit of creditors.”
