A London supply agency that had Chelsea striker Raheem Sterling as an investor has fallen into administration after employees and suppliers have been left unpaid.

The agency launched an announcement late final night time stating that it had “regrettably” suspended operations “due to funding constraints” with the final deliveries made on 30 July.

The Canning city based mostly enterprise, which specialised in African and Caribbean groceries, seems to have been struggling for a while.

Court data obtained by the Standard present that since March, Oja has confronted eight totally different authorized claims for unpaid cash totalling over £50,000.

The Standard has spoken to 5 totally different sources, together with suppliers and ex-employees, who stated they reduce ties with the enterprise after ready months for wages and charges to return in, with some resorting to authorized motion in a determined bid to get their cash. They have raised issues in regards to the administration of the enterprise by CEO and founder, Mariam Jimoh.

“There was a time when I cried on my shift because I felt like an unemployed person with a job,” one worker instructed the Standard.

“It had come to a point where colleagues were sending money to other colleagues who hadn’t received their pay so that they had enough money to come into work.

“Some of us had to tell [Jimoh] why we needed the money that we worked for to try to make her sympathise with us. But this wouldn’t work.”

Oja, which delivered specialist substances akin to jerk seasoning and frozen catfish steak, first rose to prominence in March this yr after attracting funding from backers together with the Chelsea and England star in a seven-figure funding spherical. The enterprise had additionally obtained an funding from Deliveroo co-founder, Greg Orlowski.

A spokesperson for Raheem Sterling, who’s a minority shareholder, stated he had not been made conscious of any authorized complaints. There is not any suggestion that he knew in regards to the monetary issues on the enterprise.

The Standard can reveal that two weeks previous to the funding announcement, the agency had already obtained its first authorized declare for greater than £7,000 in unpaid charges to a small enterprise who provided produce for the corporate, whereas internally, employees have been in a dispute with Jimoh about not getting their wages paid on time.

On May 11, Oja CEO Jimoh appeared in an interview with The Sun newspaper, entitled: “I quit my banking job to start my own business – it’s so successful even Premier League legend Raheem Sterling loved it.”

But someday earlier than the interview was printed, on May 10 Oja had its second authorized declare filed towards it, for charges totalling over £5,000, the Standard can reveal.

Since then the agency has had six additional authorized claims for 1000’s of kilos every, as much as and together with a declare filed by final week by a former worker who had not obtained his wages, it’s understood.

In inner Slack conversations seen by the Standard, when Oja staff sought to reckon with Mariam Jimoh about why they weren’t getting paid, she replied: “There is nothing to pay you with. Stop talking to me about this.” Staff who continued to protest about their lack of pay have been faraway from workforce communications channels, earlier than being instructed to “go to HR” to complain. Oja’s HR operate was run by Jimoh’s mom.

“I knew the company was going through financial difficulties [but] I had to chase my own money for weeks and there was always an excuse,” one other worker instructed the Standard.

“When I asked for my own money I felt like I had committed a crime… in the end I had to borrow cash off my mum and dad.”

Turmoil inside the corporate additionally appeared to have an effect on its clients, with a string of current experiences on-line complaining of deliveries missed and requests for refunds ignored.

The money disaster dealing with Oja underscores the challenges dealing with supply app startups amid fierce competitors, paper-thin margins and dwindling investor urge for food. As not too long ago as at the moment, food delivery app Getir said it was cutting more than two thousand jobs globally in a bid to slash prices.

One provider a neighborhood small enterprise proprietor, who reduce ties with Oja after ready months for 1000’s of kilos in unpaid charges, stated he felt he had no choice however to take the corporate to court docket.

“It may not sound like a lot but it was serious for our business,” he stated. “I would look on the [Oja] website and see that the food I was supplying was being sold at less than cost. I wondered how much longer this could go on for.”

Russ Mould, funding director at AJ Bell, stated: “The challenges that face – and can take down – any firm also confront food delivery businesses: competition, customer dissatisfaction and regulation.

“The regulator is also always watching, especially when it comes to the issue of workers’ rights, their pay, benefits, conditions and hours. Food delivery is thin margin at best – Ocado has been at it for twenty-odd years and never consistently made a profit, either as a stand-alone business or in the joint venture with M&S – and increased costs are an unwelcome burden.

“The butcher’s boy and baker’s boy on their bike died out for a reason – it was cheaper and easier to get customers to come to your shop – and it is possible that an era of ultra-cheap money has helped to conceal the cost of distance, which is also rising owing to oil and fuel prices.”

In an announcement Jimoh instructed the Standard: “2023 was a tough year for most grocery delivery companies which often aren’t profitable in their early years and require constant funding to survive. On top of the macroeconomic challenges, Oja also faced its own operational difficulties that we worked relentlessly to resolve.

“Despite exploring all potential funding sources tirelessly, and navigating an unexpected dip in Q1 revenues, Oja made its final deliveries on 30 July 2023 and is currently in the hands of administrators.”