Spanish startup Jeff never closed a €90 million round, hasn’t paid employees for nine months, and is now filing for bankruptcy

Valencia-based entrepreneurship-for-all startup Jeff has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy according to a report first filed by Jesus Martinez at La Información. 

The filing arrives after a €45 million Series C equity round, one that DX Ventures would have led with the participation of Clean Ventures, Stelco, Prism Venture Management, and existing partners including Nalpa and Alcor Ocean, led by the company's chairman, Javier Rubió never materialised alongside a €45 million debt facility from an unnamed provider, however, the Central Bank of Dubai is mentioned as one of the investors.

The second commercial court of Valencia has appointed specialist law firm PKF Attest to oversee the bankruptcy process. While the entirety of Jeff’s debt is yet to be determined, La Información reports that “from 2020 and October 2022, the company had losses worth close to €65 million.”

Sadly, one of the biggest losers in the whole ordeal is Jeff employees, as according to the La Información report, the company has not paid salaries since last September. Eloi Gómez, who did not respond to requests for comment, apparently justified the lack of payroll due to failing to close the €90 million round, explicitly noting that first it was the renegotiation of the terms and a specific clause, and then that the Bank of Dubai "had paralyzed the outflow of capital".

At the time of Jeff's mythical Series C announcement, Gómez commented, "This investment operation not only solves our current situation but also allows us to have years of stability and sufficient capital to be able to continue developing our vision based on profitability."

Likewise, the same announcement included word of a new offering from the company - Jeff Capital, an arm launched in April 2022 and aimed at specifically meeting Jeff customers’ liquidity needs. A black and white case of the blind leading the blind?

In addition to an ongoing lawsuit filed by Jeff employees who are seeking unpaid monthly wages and under review by the 17th Social Court of Valencia, in the past three years Jeff has been the subject of lawsuits in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil with allegations of a scam be leveled, arguing that promised conditions were not met to customers, specifically monthly profitability figures or the generation of customer orders.

Prior to the €90 million Series C round that never materialised, historic backers of Jeff, or Mr. Jeff as it was formerly known, include All Iron Ventures, Alma Mundi Ventures, FJ Labs, AddVenture, and a host of angel investors.