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When the news broke in July that battery cell technology company听ZapGo听had entered administration it looked like just another business failure.听

The company, which employed 25 people, was based at Oxford鈥檚 Harwell Research Campus when the administrators were called in on July 23 with debts of $14m.听

However, dig a bit deeper, and the story of听ZapGo 鈥� and the people behind it 鈥� reads more like a Hollywood blockbuster movie than a business collapse.

It has all the ingredients:听a听memorable appearance on听Dragons鈥�听Den; a string of business failures; investor disputes; claims of world–changing technology; a bitter dispute with a major US corporation; and an ongoing court case.听

At听one point听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听President of听US Operations听Charles Resnick was indicted in the听US accused of fraud听for submitting receipts for prostitutes as business expenses 鈥� although he told听老九品茶Cloud听the听charges were听subsequently dismissed.听

To understand what happened at听ZapGo听we need to start with the central figure:听founder and CEO Stephen Voller.听

He was the public face of听ZapGo, which attracted $25m investment on the back of claims that its technology would be able to charge electric vehicles in five minutes.听

The $25m was broken down into $5m of grants, $6m in equity and $14m in debt 鈥� and it was the 12-15 per cent interest charges on servicing the debt that Mr Voller said forced the company into administration.听

The 61-year-old added: 鈥淭echnology businesses [like ours] don鈥檛 fail because the tech does not work 鈥� they fail due to a lack of funding.听

鈥淎s we moved into the Covid crisis in February and March, when we were anticipating closing a funding round, it brought that to a halt 鈥� that鈥檚 the long and the short of it.鈥�听

However听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听investors give a different version of events and lay the blame firmly at the door of Mr Voller.听听

So听who is Stephen David Voller?听

In 2009 he appeared in series seven of听Dragons鈥�听Den听when he asked for 拢2.5 million for a 30 per cent stake in his company Bee Automobiles, which was looking to produce the next generation of electric cars.听

According to the accompanying BBC show notes, Mr Voller gave a听鈥榥ervous pitch鈥櫶�and described himself as the MD of an internet company and had raised 拢40m for various companies in the past.听

It was the biggest single investment request ever seen in the den and although Mr Voller left empty-handed, there was no shortage of advice from the Dragons.听

Theo Paphitis was reportedly 鈥榠ncredulous鈥� while Deborah Meaden quickly uttered the age–old line 鈥業鈥檓 out鈥� after saying the project was a 鈥榝inancial loss-maker鈥�.听

Duncan Bannatyne, never one to mince his words, said the idea was 鈥榗razy鈥� while Peter Jones had the last word by saying Mr Voller was 鈥榣osing sight of reality now鈥� as it was unrealistic to think he could make and market a car for 拢10m.听

Bee听Automotives听dissolved in 2010 soon after his disastrous TV appearance.听

鈥淭he thing with听Dragons鈥�听Den听is you know it鈥檚 not real,鈥� Mr Voller told听老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as a den. It鈥檚 a TV studio and this is all an act.听

鈥淚t was certainly an experience and a really interesting one. It鈥檚 not something I鈥檇 choose to repeat.鈥�听

There鈥檚 no mention of the appearance on听Dragons鈥�听Den听or Bee听Automotives听on Mr Voller鈥檚 LinkedIn profile, where he proudly describes himself as a writer/ novelist having self–published his first book 鈥�King Stephen, the Silver Man and Greta the Witch鈥�听on Amazon Kindle in January 2014.听

鈥�King Stephen is a work of fiction but represents an amalgam of Stephen鈥檚 life experiences in business and in running technology companies,鈥� it explained.听

Mr听Voller, who said the book sold 鈥榪uite a few online鈥�, likens his writing to Ken Follett, Tom Clancy and Wilbur Smith but said the 鈥榗losest comparison would be the听Da Vinci Code听by Dan Brown鈥�.听

Mr Voller makes no mention of any of the businesses he was involved in before听ZapGo听so听老九品茶Cloud听has tried to fill in some of the gaps.听

In 2002 he co-founded Voller Energy to manufacture portable fuel cell systems. 听Three years late Voller Energy Group listed on the Alternative Investment Market and details of Voller鈥檚 early career were included in his biography notes.听听

鈥淪tephen Voller is an experienced entrepreneur who has successfully built a number of technology businesses and managed a number of high growth companies,鈥� it read. 鈥淧reviously, Stephen was chief executive officer of RealCall (now called听Adeptra), a company focused on interactive alerting to mobile phones, managing director of Netscape UK and a sales manager at IBM.听听

鈥�Whilst at IBM, Stephen managed a $1 billion business unit, marketing exclusively through distributors, OEMs, retailers and resellers.鈥� 听听

However Voller Energy Group soon lost its fizz and in 2009 a notice in The London Gazette from chairman John Ernest听Brown announced that Voller Energy Group had been wound up.听Mr Voller told听老九品茶Cloud: 鈥淵es,听it had my name on the wall;听and yes,听it did fail;听but it failed after I left.鈥�听

Despite the setback,听Mr Voller was back in 2011 as the CEO of听an energy storage company called Cella Energy, which was听the first spin-out from the ISIS Neutron Source at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.听

Things seemed to be looking up when Cella Energy won the听Shell Springboard Awards 2011 and a 拢40,000 prize for developing a technology which allowed hydrogen to be stored in a cheap, practical way, bringing the prospect of hydrogen–fuelled cars one step closer to reality.听

Unfortunately听it didn鈥檛 last. Research by听老九品茶Cloud听suggests Cella Energy went into administration not once but twice 鈥� in 2014 and 2018 鈥� although Companies House show that Mr Voller resigned as a director on May 21, 2013.听

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 there for either of the administrations,鈥� he told听老九品茶Cloud.听

What we do know is that in 2013 Voller founded the company that we know as听ZapGo.听

The business was originally called London听Graphene听but it changed its name a year later to听ZapGoCharger听and eventually became听ZapGo听in 2016.听

鈥淭here was continual fundraising going on where different investors came in at different times,鈥� recalled Mr Voller. 鈥淲e never stopped fundraising the whole time.鈥�听

This was how he came to meet Simon Harris in 2015 at a corporate finance house.听

 

鈥淗e claimed to have the means to produce a new device that would charge a phone in a few minutes,鈥� recalled Mr Harris.听

鈥淭he subject matter was extremely topical and interesting. We鈥檙e always looking to stay on top of trends. We thought 鈥榯hese guys are credible鈥�.听

鈥淲e arranged for them to present to an audience of potential angel investors in the spring of 2015 and they raised 拢500,000 in equity funding.鈥�听

Mr Harris himself invested 拢20,000 of his own money and accepted a position of advisory board member.听

鈥淚 was unable to get any measure of Voller and his听people听but we were comfortable with the risk and decided to give it a go,鈥� he said.听

A second round of funding followed in 2016 for another 拢750,000 and Mr Harris accepted an offer to join the company as a full-time employee.听

鈥淚 decided to put my shoulder to the wheel to try and get this technology to market,鈥� he said.听

According to Mr Harris,听the crux of the problem was the product wasn鈥檛 market ready and wasn鈥檛 even the right product.听

鈥淚t became apparent in the spring or summer of 2016 that the technology was not suitable for a pocket-size device,鈥� recalled Mr Harris.听

鈥淭he engineers and scientists tried to apply it to bigger devices like cordless drills, scooters, vacuum cleaners and other consumer devices.鈥�听

For his part Mr Voller told听老九品茶Cloud听the problem wasn鈥檛 developing technology but making money out of it.听

鈥淔or example, we delivered power tools that would charge in 15 seconds,鈥� he claimed. 鈥淲e had those products in 2017. The problem is how you make money out of them. If you go into B&Q you can buy a drill with two batteries for 拢29.99. For us to compete in that market we鈥檇 have to get through huge volumes.鈥�听

He said they also developed phone chargers by 2014 but couldn鈥檛 commercialise them.听

According to Mr Harris,听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听biggest mistake was trying to conquer America and the appointment in August of an American director called Charles Resnick. We鈥檒l hear a lot more about Mr Resnick later听–听but Mr Harris was never a fan.听

鈥淗e didn鈥檛 know anything about the market we were in,鈥� claimed Mr Harris. 鈥淚t was an expensive mistake.鈥�听

As they attempted to crack听America听they exhibited at the prestigious tech show CES in Las Vegas in January 2017.听

Mr Harris recalled: 鈥淰oller was getting more and more excitable. I was raising money to feed the money furnace that the company was burning through. Resnick was trying to get the company into the electrical vehicle charging world. The whole thing was getting out of control.鈥�听

However听he鈥檚 keen to stress that there鈥檚 genuine merit behind the technology. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not moon shine,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey should have got their heads down and invested in the scientists to get the product right.鈥�听

Mr Harris said he tried to warn Mr Voller but claimed he was threatened with the sack and he eventually resigned in May 2018 after nearly three years in the role. Mr Voller declined to comment on his former director.听

But Mr Harris wasn鈥檛 the only investor to lose money from听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听administration.听

老九品茶Cloud听has spoken to several disgruntled investors including Danish investor Steen Winther Joergensen, who invested 拢47,000 in the start-up.听

He invested for the first time in 2017 with 拢30,000, following it up in 2019 with another 拢17,000. He never met Mr Voller in person.听

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do my research,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 check out the CEO. I didn鈥檛 know about the administrations or his appearance on听Dragons鈥�听Den. He鈥檚 a serial failed entrepreneur. Covid-19 is an excuse.鈥�听

Another investor,听who asked not to be named, said:听鈥淗e (Voller) burnt cash. He frittered it away.鈥�听

However听Mr Voller strenuously denied any wrongdoing.听

鈥淯nusually for a private company we had more than 300 investors,鈥� he told听老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淎lthough the number is large the majority of investors invested relatively small amounts of money through EIS.鈥�听

EIS stands for Enterprise Investment Scheme听and offers tax breaks to individual听investors.听

Mr Voller said it was a case of risk and reward. 鈥淭hey got their tax breaks on EIS in return for the accepted risks,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he other element that goes with it is under the EIS rules they鈥檙e only allowed to have ordinary shares, which gives investors limited protection. It鈥檚 not听like听the preference shares which most VC investors insist on.鈥�听

However听the unhappy investors point out that despite being a start-up,听ZapGo听paid senior staff听whopping salaries of 拢200k+. According to their 2018 accounts,听the highest–paid director was paid 拢219,696, up from 拢182,812 in 2017.听

Mr Voller said it wasn鈥檛 him but declined to identify who the highest paid director was. 鈥淚n UK terms it may look like a high level of salary,听but in the US it鈥檚 not,鈥� he said.听

It was about this time that the story took a dramatic twist when听ZapGo听came onto the radar of听Trevor Milton, founder of Arizona-based听Nikola Corporation, which was set up to manufacture alternative fuel vehicles and has a multi-billion–dollar valuation.听

Exactly what happened next is laid out in papers filed by Nikola in the US District Court for the District of Delaware in March 2020 against听ZapGo, Mr Voller, Mr Resnick and chief financial officer Tim Walder.听

According to the court documents Mr Milton reached out to听ZapGo听and Mr Voller touted his expertise as 鈥渁n experienced business leader and recognised authority on energy storage technologies鈥�.听

老九品茶Cloud听contacted Nikola Corporation for a comment and was told: 鈥淎s a matter of company policy, we do not comment on pending legal proceedings.鈥�听

Nikola鈥檚 version of events is laid out in the court documents.听

The paperwork alleges: 鈥�ZapGo, Voller, Resnick and Walder told Milton that if Nikola invested $8m in听ZapGo听that听ZapGo听could develop a Generation 4 (Gen4) C-Ion cell (doubling the energy storage over Gen3) in a few months.鈥�听

According to Mr Milton,听ZapGo听claimed that its C-Ion cells were designed for a 30-year operational life and听one听million charge/discharge cycles.听

At the risk of sounding too technical,听this was a big claim. The parties signed a Letter of Intent for Nikola to acquire听ZapGo听on October 31, 2019 for a 鈥榯entative鈥� purchase price of $56.5m in Nikola stock.听

With the Letter of Intent in place, Nikola began its due diligence with Jason Roycht, vice president of technology development and strategy, meeting听ZapGo听鈥� which is when things began to unravel.听

Mr Roycht went to England to meet with听ZapGo听on December 4, 2019, and Mr Resnick reiterated that development of Gen4 would be complete in 2020 with production runs beginning in 2021.听

Mr Walder said that the Gen4 cell would enable听ZapGo听to realise revenue of $4.1bn by 2024.听

Then came the bombshell. According to the court documents: 鈥淒uring his visit to听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听headquarters in Oxford, Roycht was researching听ZapGo听on the night of December 5, 2019 when he discovered that Charles Resnick was indicted on 11 April 2019 by the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.听

鈥淭he indictment alleged that Resnick arranged to meet escorts, prostitutes and call girls during business trips through Europe and the United States while he worked for NASA鈥檚 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. Resnick would then submit the expenses for the prostitutes as a business expense.鈥�听

老九品茶Cloud听contacted 69-year-old Mr Resnick at his home in America and although he confirmed he was听indicted in the听US accused of听fraud听for submitting receipts for prostitutes as business expenses,听he听said the听charges were听subsequently dismissed.听

He added that the tax听allegations听related to 2010-13 when he was听being treated for听cancer and were several years before he started working for听ZapGo听or had a relationship with NASA.听

According to Companies House Mr Resnick resigned from听ZapGo听on December 19, 2019 but by then the cracks in the relationship between听ZapGo听and Nikola were widening.听

In summary Nikola didn鈥檛 think听ZapGo听was making the progress they promised and even asked for an additional $8m funding.听

The papers filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware continued: 鈥淩oycht did additional research and discovered that听ZapGo听was on the brink of bankruptcy even though听ZapGo听postured itself as a $4 billion company and an 鈥榚qual鈥� to Nikola.鈥�听

The relationship broke down completely in February 2020 and Nikola terminated its LOI with听ZapGo听soon afterwards having clocked up $2,181,508 in development costs.听This prompted a counter claim from听ZapGo,听threatening听its听own litigation.听

What鈥檚 not in doubt is that听ZapGo, which was already weighed down by crippling debts of $14m, couldn鈥檛 continue and on July 23 they called in administrators.听

Mr Voller declined to discuss the legal case by Nikola Corporation other than to say he and Mr Walder had filed for it to be dismissed on September 4, 2020.听

He also declined to say whether he was trying to buy听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听IP from the administrators听Buchler Phillips, who have been contacted by听老九品茶Cloud.听

What we do know that in the week after听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听administration Mr Voller became a director of two newly incorporated听companies called Carbon-Ion Energy Storage Ltd听听and Oxford Professional Presentations.听

鈥淐learly we don鈥檛 know if听ZapGo听is going to continue in any shape or form at this point in time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking at other opportunities. For those people who have looked to be entrepreneurs and founded companies the path is never smooth. You make mistakes and you learn from those mistakes.听

鈥淚n terms of听窜补辫骋辞鈥檚听administration we tried everything we could to try and restructure the debt. It was the last resort to put the company into administration.听

鈥淚n putting the company into administration,听I was the biggest shareholder. I had about 20 per cent of the shares.听

鈥淭he majority of the investment we took in was in the form of debt and it was the debt that killed us.听

鈥淭he issue we鈥檝e always had is we鈥檝e been spending more money and more time servicing our debt than on R&D.听

鈥淚n 2018 we took in a debt round from a group of investors in the US. This was what ultimately killed us. We took on money on horrendous terms because we were desperate for cash at that time. Frankly the company has been on a downward slope since we took on that money.听

鈥淚n 2019 we were out of cash again so we took on further debt on even worse terms because the only place we could raise money was from the original debt holders.听

鈥淲hat we tried to do during the first part of the year was restructure the debt by turning it into equity. We didn鈥檛 succeed in that because we needed 75 per cent of our shareholders to approve the change. We had no choice but to put the company into administration.鈥�听

He found an unlikely ally in Mr Resnick. 鈥�ZapGo听failed because they could not raise enough capital,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my opinion听had听ZapGo听been based in Silicon Valley instead of Oxford,听my gut feeling is they would have found it a lot easier to have raised investment.听

鈥淲hen Nikola walked听away听and Covid-19 hit,听it made it almost impossible to raise money. Those events coupled with the shareholders of听ZapGo听not approving a debt restructure made raising additional capital impossible.听

鈥淶apGo听was an early–stage technology company. It was high risk but had the potential for high rewards.听Unfortunately听most technology companies fail.”听

However听the explanation cut no ice with experienced angel investor Michael Byrne, who invested 拢17,000 in听ZapGo听in 2017 and 2018 as part of the EIS scheme.听

鈥淶apGo听had some really good technology and talented scientists but the weakest corporate governance I鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� he told听BuisinessCloud. 鈥淪tephen Voller was a disaster. If they were saddled with debt it was down to him.听

鈥淎s soon as the Nikola deal collapsed听ZapGo听was done. It鈥檚 not down to Covid-19.听听

鈥�This is not the first investment I鈥檝e had that has gone bad and it won鈥檛 be the last. This is an example of what can happen when you have insufficient corporate governance.鈥�听

• Contact老九品茶Cloud听at听news@businesscloud.co.uk听