London startup Powa Technologies held back staff salaries due to a lack of revenue
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The London company, which has a mobile app called PowaTag that allows people to buy and order something by taking a photo of it on their smartphone, allegedly held back staff salaries and payments to contractors as it struggles to raise further capital.
A video message to staff that was seen by the FT reportedly shows Dan Wagner, Powa CEO and founder, telling staff that the company was "missing or late with staff payments and salaries."
Wagner, who told the FT last April that he was building the biggest tech company in living memory, admitted in the video message that Powa was "pre-revenue."
He added: "As we go forward from here that revenue will start to flow in meaningful ways but right now it isn't."
In the message, Wagner is said to admit that a number of Powa staff were locked out of offices across Europe after Powa failed to pay office supplier Regus.
Several Powa employees went unpaid in January, according to sources cited by the FT who claim to have knowledge of the company.
Powa, which values itself at $2.7 billion (£1.89 billion) told the FT: "At times, payroll has been late, but we have always met our commitments to our employees."
It also said it was ensuring its suppliers were paid in full as quickly as possible.
Powa's headquarters are situated over two floors in Heron Tower, which is the tallest skyscraper in the City of London. Rent on this one property could be as high as £2.5 million a year, according to an FT source with knowledge of the matter.