Pragmatic mortgages production line, CFO steps down

Business news | January 3, 2025

By Peter Clarke

Cette publication existe aussi en Français

Flexible IC manufacturer Pragmatic Semiconductor Ltd. (Cambridge, England) has mortgaged its FlexLogic Line 2, in Durham, England, for an undisclosed sum of money.

In addition, but not known to be connected, Rian Urding, previously Pragmatic’s chief financial officer and a director, ceased to be a director of the company as of November 19, according to company filings, and appears to have left the company. Urding’s Linkedin entry lists that he was Group CFO of Pragmatic from May 2022 until November 2024.

The mortgage deal with Close Leasing Ltd. was signed-off by Urding in September 2024. The mortgage covers 25 pieces of semiconductor manufacturing and test equipment. It is not unusual for capital-intensive companies to mortgage capital equipment or to sell it off and lease it back. This can be done for various reasons including cash-flow, for a lower-cost of borrowing or for tax benefits.

At the end of 2023 Pragmatic Semiconductor had £153.2 million in cash and cash equivalents following a Series D funding round that raised £182 million.

Pragmatic Semi raises $231m in Europe’s largest funding round

It is possible that in 2024 Pragmatic spent a significant part of its cash pile on equipment for the FlexLogic Line 2 with a view to mortgaging the equipment to free up resources for operations, for other targeted investment or purchases.

FlexLogic Line 2 is located at Pragmatic Park in Durham in the north of England. The company opened the fab there in March 2024 to increase production capacity for its ultra-low-cost flexible integrated circuits.

Pragmatic was approached by eeNews Europe for comment but the company did not respond by the time this story was posted.