Euan Blair's Multiverse: A Deep Dive into Widening Losses Despite Revenue Growth
It's a tale as old as time: a company sees its revenues soar, yet finds itself swimming in a sea of red ink. This is the current reality for Multiverse, the workplace training company founded by Euan Blair. Despite the buzz around artificial intelligence fueling increased interest in their services, the company's losses have widened significantly. But what's really going on behind the scenes?
Multiverse, which achieved a 'unicorn' valuation of £1.4 billion back in 2022, reported a 36.3% increase in annual sales, reaching £79.6 million by the end of March 2024, up from £58.4 million the previous year. However, pre-tax losses climbed from £60.6 million to a staggering £63.3 million. Accumulated losses have now reached £178.3 million. This raises some serious questions about the company's financial health.
Multiverse, established in 2016, initially focused on matching non-university graduates with jobs and employer-funded training. It has since shifted its focus to retraining existing employees, often those already well into their careers. Their client base spans both private and public sectors, including the NHS, and they claim to have worked with an 'apprentice population' of nearly 28,000 individuals. The majority of their income stems from the UK.
The AI Factor: The company's mission is to 'equip the workforce to win in the AI era.' They've partnered with employers across various sectors, and Euan Blair, son of Sir Tony Blair, emphasizes the critical role of training staff to leverage AI for productivity gains. Their 2025 financial year is described as one of 'strong growth and further investment,' attributing sales growth to the rising interest in AI and data skills.
But here's where it gets controversial: While operating losses widened from £63.7 million to £64.6 million, Multiverse notes that its loss on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) is 'trending towards profitability' due to efficiency improvements. Ebitda losses narrowed from £61.3 million to £59.7 million. This suggests that, despite the overall losses, the company is making progress in managing its operational costs.
Interestingly, sales growth was achieved despite a slight decrease in headcount, from 822 to 813. Additionally, almost £1 million was paid to 55 staff members in compensation for job losses, compared to £1.9 million paid to 103 employees the previous year.
Cash balances decreased to £81.8 million as of October 3, 2025, down from £135.4 million the prior year. Multiverse is also leveraging AI to boost its own productivity, with revenue per employee increasing by 37% during the financial year. The company is offering substantial prizes to employees who develop AI tools to improve efficiency in areas such as sales and curriculum design.
Executive Pay and Ownership: Euan Blair's compensation, including pension contributions, slightly decreased from £253,000 to £246,000. According to filings, Blair owns about a fifth of the company. Key shareholders include venture capital firms like General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Index Ventures.
A Multiverse spokesman stated that companies are actively seeking to improve productivity through AI investments. They emphasized that Multiverse is delivering on this promise for its growing customer base and within the company itself, with revenue per employee up by 37%. The spokesman also highlighted accelerating revenue growth and further improvements in their key earnings metric, Ebitda, as they implement their strategy toward profitability.
In Conclusion: While Multiverse is experiencing revenue growth, the widening losses raise concerns. The company's focus on AI and its efforts to improve efficiency are critical. What do you think about Multiverse's approach? Do you believe their strategy will lead to profitability? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
