Singapore firm held fixed charge over BIOHM's patents weeks before administration
BIOHM Ltd, the London-based biotech startup developing mycelium building materials, entered administration on 13 May 2026 with a Singapore entity holding a fixed charge over its patents.
Information for general guidance, drawn from the public record. Not legal, financial, or insolvency advice. If you are affected by an insolvency, consult a licensed practitioner or qualified solicitor.
A Singapore-registered company, Khejri Pte Ltd, registered a fixed charge over all of BIOHM Ltd's patents on 19 March 2026, less than two months before the London biotech entered administration on 13 May 2026.
The charge, delivered to Companies House on 20 March 2026, covers all present and future patents and patent applications held by BIOHM, including renewals, extensions, continuations, divisionals and substitutions, as well as all other intellectual property rights legally or beneficially owned by the company. A fixed charge is a form of security over a specific identified asset, giving the charge holder direct rights over that asset in an insolvency. The short gap between registration and appointment is likely to draw scrutiny from other creditors.
William Antony Batty and Hugh Francis Jesseman, both of Antony Batty and Company LLP at 3 Field Court, Gray's Inn, London, were appointed joint administrators. Administrators are insolvency practitioners who take control of a company to try to rescue it, sell it as a going concern, or realise its assets for creditors. Batty holds IP number 8111 and Jesseman holds IP number 9480. The appointment was sealed by the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Insolvency and Companies List, under court number CR-2026-003350.
The company
BIOHM Ltd was incorporated on 11 July 2016 and is registered at 3 Field Court, Gray's Inn, London, WC1R 5EF, with a trading address at 5a Juno Way, London, SE14 5RW. Its SIC classification is other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering. The company built a profile as a multi-award-winning biotech startup focused on developing mycelium-based sustainable building materials, a field that attracted considerable attention from the construction and green technology sectors.
BIOHM filed its last accounts to 31 July 2024 on a total-exemption-full basis, a filing route available to smaller companies. Next accounts were due by 30 September 2026.
The officers
The directors at the time of the administration appointment were Harry Isaac Felix John Darkly, appointed 24 June 2021, Ehab Badreldin Sayed Abouserie Ibrahim, a co-founder appointed on incorporation on 11 July 2016, and Claire Helen Sparrow, appointed 28 March 2022, all resident in the United Kingdom or England. Three directors had resigned in the period leading up to the appointment: Dr David William James Greenfield and John Rees White both resigned on 31 July 2025, Sriram Nadathur resigned on 28 February 2026, and Oksana Bondar had resigned earlier, on 2 February 2024.
The secured charge
Khejri Pte Ltd is the sole holder of an outstanding registered charge against BIOHM. As a secured creditor whose debt is backed by a charge over the company's assets, Khejri ranks ahead of unsecured creditors in any distribution and holds rights over the intellectual property at the core of BIOHM's commercial value. The charge description covers all present and future patents and patent applications, whether registered or unregistered and wherever subsisting, together with all other intellectual property rights legally or beneficially owned by the borrower.
No other outstanding charges appear on the register.
For creditors, suppliers and customers
Once administrators are appointed, they issue statutory communications and payment instructions to known creditors in due course. Correspondence is conducted through Antony Batty and Company LLP at the address listed on the notice. Creditors wishing to evidence what they are owed do so by submitting a proof of debt, the formal claim form used in the insolvency process to record the amount a creditor says is owed to them.
The administration triggers a moratorium under Schedule B1, paragraph 43 of the Insolvency Act 1986, the part of the Act that governs administration in England and Wales. The moratorium pauses most creditor enforcement action, meaning creditors generally cannot start or continue court proceedings against the company without the court's permission.
Customers who have paid for goods or services not yet delivered, or who hold deposits, rank as unsecured creditors whose debts are not backed by a charge. Unsecured creditors sit behind secured creditors and preferential creditors in the order in which assets are distributed.
Employee claims for unpaid wages, notice pay and statutory redundancy are treated as preferential or unsecured depending on the type of claim and the amounts involved. The Redundancy Payments Service, a government body, exists to meet certain statutory payments to employees where an employer is insolvent and unable to pay them directly.
Common questions
Are you owed money by Biohm Limited?
You are an unsecured creditor unless you hold a registered charge or retention of title. The administrators will write to known creditors in due course with a proof-of-debt form and timetable for the first meeting. Until that letter arrives, no formal action is required from you. Read more about proof of debt and where you sit in the creditor hierarchy.
Did you work at Biohm Limited?
Wages owed up to a statutory cap, holiday pay, notice pay and redundancy may be claimable from the Redundancy Payments Service if the company is unable to pay. The administrators will normally coordinate the RP1 claim with the affected staff. See gov.uk: your rights if your employer is insolvent.
Do you hold a deposit, gift card or undelivered order from Biohm Limited?
Customers with paid-but-undelivered orders, gift cards or deposits typically rank as unsecured creditors. Where you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may let you claim from the card issuer for breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier; the rules apply per item, not per transaction, and the card must be a regulated credit card. Debit-card payments may be recoverable via chargeback.
Are you a director of a company connected to Biohm Limited?
Watch for Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 if you intend to keep trading under a similar name in a successor company. The rule prohibits a director of a liquidated company from being involved in another company using the same or a similar name for five years, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. Read more about Section 216.
Sources
- The London Gazette notice (code Appointment of Administrators)
- Companies House record 10271534
- Court: High Court of Justice
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
