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Brithishvolt into administration.

 

Brithishvolt into administration.

Britishvolt has collapsed into administration after last-ditch efforts to secure emergency funding from investors failed, dashing hopes that the start-up would help turn the UK into a battery manufacturing powerhouse.

Founded in 2019, the company had been billed as a potential British battery-making champion, securing investment from FTSE 100 companies Glencore and Ashtead and gaining a £100mn funding pledge from the government.

The group, which had formed a big part of former prime minister Boris Johnson’s plans for a «green industrial revolution», had planned to build a £3.8bn battery plant in Blyth, northeast England — the rights to the site are the group’s only significant asset. The vast majority of Britishvolt’s 232 staff were made redundant «with immediate effect» as the business had no funds to continue operating.

The group had for months survived on short-term rescue funding and tax rebates while it searched for a viable long-term owner.

A takeover offer from a group of shareholders, selected by the board as a «preferred offer» on Friday, was its last attempt to remain afloat, but creditors refused to back the deal.

In response to the collapse, the House of Commons business, energy, and industrial strategy select committee has launched an inquiry into the viability of future battery manufacturing in the UK.

The company had also received an offer from a little-known Indonesia-linked fund called DeaLab that was on similar terms to the shareholder bid.

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  1. Laura18 January 2023 at 15:06

    Too bad. I was hoping the UK would become better in this area because it's a very important one but it seems that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

    ReplyDelete

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