Candy Ventures and other investors have pulled the plug on investing in the peer-to-peer payment app.
A Nick Candy-backed fintech founded by a “millionaire” who grew up on a council estate has gone into liquidation, leading to job losses, after investors pulled the plug on the payment app.
Staff at VibePay, a UK peer-to-peer payment app, were made redundant after the investment arm of the billionaire Reform UK treasurer and property mogul, called Candy Ventures, and other investors, pulled future investment, following a strategic review.
Around 10 staff were made redundant in an online call weeks ago, following around 30 redundancies in 2025, sources say. One axed staff member said: “I am very upset, we believed we had built a really strong product.”
Liquidators have been appointed to VibePay, in which Candy Ventures was the largest shareholder.
VibePay was founded by Luke Massie, who grew up on a council estate in Lancashire with an alcoholic and depressed mum. Massie, who according to The Sun was a millionaire, launched VibePay in 2019.
The fintech facilitates account-to-account payments for businesses, content creators, and individual consumers using open banking. VibePay grew out of Massie’s previous venture Vibe Tickets.
Sources said a deal to buy VibePay by Bank of America-backed fintech Banked did not go through, despite a press release announcing the deal last year.
Sources said the deal failed due to issues arising out of the due diligence process carried out by Banked. Neither Banked nor VibePay confirmed this. After this, investors carried out a strategic review and decided to pull the plug on future investment.
Massie, who set up his first business when he was 17, left VibePay in December last year. According to Pitchbook, VibePay has raised over £12m. Its other backers include YouTube star and DJ Vikkstar, UK entrepreneur Scott Fletcher and Vela Technologies.
A spokesperson for Candy Ventures, which had invested millions in VibePay, said: “Following the departure of founder and CEO Luke Massie in December, the board of Vibe conducted a strategic review of the business and its funding requirements.
“The findings were shared with key investors in January, who decided not to commit further capital. As a result, and after exploring all available options, the board concluded that placing the business into liquidation was the only viable course of action. The board thanks the Vibe team, partners and clients for their support and contribution, and is working with the appointed liquidators to ensure an orderly process.”
Banked did not respond to a request for a comment.
IMAGE: PIXABAY