KOKO Networks’ UK carbon trading arm collapsed just weeks after reporting a sharp revenue increase, after a regulatory hurdle in Kenya blocked access to the higher-value compliance carbon markets central to its business.
Financial statements for KOKO Networks (UK) Ltd, signed on February 5, 2026, show revenue jumped to £39.8 million ($50.5 million) in 2024, up from £1.8 million ($2.3 million) the previous year. Despite the surge, the company posted a £14.0 million ($17.8 million) loss and carried accumulated deficits of £104.6 million ($132.8 million), with liabilities outweighing assets.
The UK unit, which trades carbon credits from its parent group’s clean cooking projects, entered administration on February 19 after a related Kenyan entity failed to secure a permit necessary for compliance carbon markets. These markets typically offer higher prices than voluntary markets, making them crucial to profitability.
The company’s filings noted that without regulatory access, “the Directors have determined that the company is no longer able to identify a viable pathway to achieving revenues and profitability.” By the time the 2024 accounts were approved, KOKO Networks (UK) Ltd had already ceased trading, with accounts prepared on a break-up basis to reflect expected recoveries and shutdown costs.
Even before the permit issue, the business was under pressure, relying on £28.6 million ($36.3 million) in related-party loans in 2024 while generating negative operating cash flow. Its entire carbon credit supply came from a single related-party supplier in Kenya, concentrating both supply and regulatory risk—when that link failed, the business had no alternative route to market.
The collapse underscores the vulnerability of fast-growing carbon credit ventures to regulatory shifts and concentrated supply chains.
