Edinburgh-headquartered tech firm collapses with loss of 173 jobs

Administrators have been appointed following the collapse of Adarma, which was founded in 2009 and had grown to become one of the largest businesses of its type in the UK. The firm employed 176 people from its headquarters in Edinburgh and office in London.

Will Wright and Alistair McAlinden from Interpath were appointed as joint administrators at the start of this week. Upon appointment, the business ceased to trade and 173 staff were made redundant. It is understood that there were around 120 staff based in Edinburgh with others home based or in London.

The company provided a range of IT and cyber security consulting and managed services, supporting “complex client needs in high-risk sectors”.

The directors had pursued a formal sale process to secure fresh investment after the business had faced growing financial pressure following the loss of a major customer and had subsequently made steps to reduce its cost base. However, without a solvent funding option, the business was not in a financial position to continue trading and the directors were left with “no choice but to place the company in administration”, according to the administrators.

The remaining staff have been retained to assist the administrators with their duties. The joint administrators will now focus on supporting impacted staff as they wind up the business.

Wright, UK chief executive at Interpath and joint administrator of Adarma, said: “Adarma had built a strong reputation in the cyber security sector, but sustained margin and cashflow pressures ultimately proved insurmountable. Like many in the industry, the business faced intense competition, rising operational costs and a continual need for investment.

“Given Adarma’s financial position, we’ve made the difficult decision to cease trading. Our team is working closely with affected employees to support them through the redundancy process, including assistance with applications to the Redundancy Payments Office.”

News of the collapse came as it emerged that the number of Scottish businesses entering administration fell by about a quarter in the first half of 2025.

New analysis by law firm Shakespeare Martineau suggests that 31 companies in Scotland filed for administration between January and June 2025, down from 41 during the same period in 2024.

Despite this apparently positive shift, Scotland still ranked as the ninth most affected UK country or region, accounting for 4 per cent of all administrations in the first six months of the year. Nationally, the UK saw 783 administrations - an 11 per cent drop from 2024, but still 3 per cent higher than in 2023.

Fiona Pask, partner and head of Scotland at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “While the year-on-year drop in Scottish administrations is encouraging, the overall environment remains extremely challenging for many businesses across the country. Distress hasn’t disappeared - it may simply be taking new forms or being delayed by short-term fixes.

“Scottish retail and hospitality businesses, in particular, are grappling with evolving consumer behaviours, staff shortages and high energy costs.”

Cyber security: Lack of planning and outdated IT systems putting Scotland at risk