Manchester tech firm Partful has reportedly entered insolvency just days after being shortlisted for a major industry award leaving staff scrambling for answers as well as new jobs.
Staff at the 3D aftersales SaaS platform began sharing news of the company’s collapse over the past 48 hours, with multiple employees confirming they are now out of work.
It’s understood staff were called into a meeting on Monday (April 13) and informed of the sudden development. Prolific North has contacted the company for confirmation.
Prolific North has also spoken to one employee, who asked not to be named, who said staff were told during the meeting that the business had entered insolvency and would cease trading that afternoon. However, they said it remains unclear whether the company has formally ceased trading or whether staff are still employed through the process, leaving around 30–45 employees with “more questions than answers”.
“It was just kind of… we’ve entered insolvency, and it was just kind of ceasing trading that afternoon,” they said.
The speed of the announcement appears to have caught many off guard, with the employee adding that, from their perspective, there had been little clear indication beforehand.
“Outwardly, at least, it looked like things were going well,” they said. While some colleagues had “inklings”, others were surprised by how quickly events unfolded.
In the immediate aftermath, staff have been left in a state of uncertainty. “We’re employed, but we’re not expected to work,” they said, adding that employees are still waiting for clarity on termination dates, pay and redundancy arrangements.
“It literally is like… we’re all kind of just trying to figure out what’s going on.”
Questions remain over whether administrators have been formally appointed. “We don’t quite know… I don’t think [we will] for a little while,” they added.
The situation has left some unsure whether they are able to take on new roles due to contractual restrictions. “I’ve had a message from a recruiter and I’d like to say I’ll get back to you, but I actually don’t know if I’m allowed to work for you.”
Despite the confusion, the employee spoke positively about their experience at the company, describing a strong culture and team environment.
“The office, the atmosphere was great… I was genuinely excited about the work,” they said. “We had a solid piece of software that could go far… and we had the culture behind it that people would stay and want to work on it.”
They added that the collapse has left many questioning how the situation arose. “The sentiment was there has to have been a fuck up somewhere,” they said. “Something has to have gone wrong for this all to have disappeared.”
The scale of the impact has been reflected in posts across LinkedIn from staff.
Ben Flemming wrote: “If you’re in the Manchester tech circles you’ve likely already heard that Partful entered insolvency yesterday, which has put me and many other talented staff out of work.” He added: “While short-lived, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and felt the culture they were building was truly something special.”
Valerie Lazareva posted: “Yesterday, my time at Partful came to an end following the company entering insolvency.”
Martin Porter-Smith described it as “unexpected insolvency”, writing: “Following the company’s unexpected insolvency, my time at Partful has come to an end.”
Josh Jenkins said the business had “entered insolvency yesterday, leaving me and many others out of work”, while Jack Wolstenholme wrote: “Sadly, my time at Partful came to an unexpected end yesterday following the company becoming insolvent.”
Fillip Serov added: “My time at Partful has unfortunately ended as the company has become insolvent.” And Nick Bates said: “After nearly 4 years, my time at Partful has come to an end following the company’s insolvency.”
Others, including Jack Fitzpatrick and Mark Butterworth, shared similar messages as they began searching for new roles.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Sam Burgess, the Manchester-headquartered business developed a platform enabling manufacturers to create interactive 3D parts catalogues and aftersales experiences.
In an interview with Prolific North last year, Burgess spoke candidly about the challenges of scaling the business, describing how “everything comes at you continuously” as a founder.
The company had raised £11.2m in funding, including a £5m investment round in 2024 led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from Par Equity and Blumberg Capital.
At the time, Burgess said: “Having the backing of Northern Gritstone, Par Equity and Blumberg Capital is vital and we are thrilled to have their backing as we help OEMs support customers, eradicate costly order errors and maximise revenues.”
Partful had been seen as one of the North West’s more promising manufacturing tech scale-ups, working with customers including Maeving, Lear, Kolpak, Triangle Tube, Ideal Heating and Allett Mowers.
As recently as last week, the company posted that it had been shortlisted for the Manufacturing Supplier Innovation Awards UK 2026, calling the recognition “a genuine honour”.
