Flurry of firms hurry to reassure investors that their cash is safe

DOzeNS of UK tech and bioscience firms rushed to reassure investors their cash was safe following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) and the last-minute rescue of its UK arm by hSBC.

Two medical tech businesses on London’s junior market AIM suspended trading for several hours as they rushed to clarify their cash position.

Diaceutics, which develops technology to help perform laboratory testing and gather data, revealed around £22m of its £22.2m cash balance had been held in SVB accounts and it had been ‘unable to access’ the funds.

The company said while it was ‘hopeful’ the money would become available, the crisis had inflicted a ‘significant impact’ on its cash position and ‘material uncertainty’ around its ability to spend.

As a result, Diaceutics requested trading in the shares be suspended as it tried to access the cash held by SVB and explore ‘other funding options’. Trading in the shares was later restored. Medical imaging group Polarean reported around £10.3m of its £11.5m cash balance had been held in SVB as well as £1.3m in a checking account at the bank.

The firm said it had asked for a trading suspension while it sought ‘further clarification’ on the state of its cash reserves. Over 40 London-listed companies published updates on their relationships with SVB to soothe investor nerves.

Customer review website Trustpilot said SVB had been its ‘principal banking partner’ but was confident that its liquidity would hold up. Others that revealed cash holdings in SVB accounts included Naked Wines, magazine publisher Future and FTSe 250 firm Auction Technology Group.