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Battery start-up Britishvolt is reported to receive additional funding from new lender to avoid going into administration
- BBC reports a new lender has come on board to keep the company afloat
- News came Monday that the British start-up was on the brink of insolvency
- It had failed to get a £30m advance on a £100m promised from the government
- The £3.8bn project has been pushed back several times, with delays to the start date for the construction of a ‘giga factory’ for batteries in Blyth, Northumberland
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Troubled British battery start-up Britishvolt has prevented it from going bankrupt by securing additional financing to keep the company afloat.
The identity of the financier – or financiers – has not been revealed, although sources close to the project de BBC that it is sufficient to keep the company operational for the ‘short to medium term’.
On Monday, it emerged that the company building the largest electric vehicle battery plant in the north-east of Britain was about to go into government after it had failed to secure an advance on government funding previously allocated for the project was promised.
British company behind battery factory plans holds up after new financing: Britishvolt reportedly received cash from unknown lender
The Financial Times yesterday broke the story that the battery company was on the brink of being ruled over for failing to receive an advance of £30m in government funding.
It said in January it would support plans for Britain’s largest gigafactory with undisclosed funding, estimated at £100 million.
However, the company has reportedly fallen short of certain targets needed to receive it, including cutting back the start of construction on the plant twice this year, leaving it on the brink of insolvency and creating 300 jobs in the UK. come into danger.
The BBC reports today that it has now been given funds to keep the company afloat, after speaking with sources who “understand the matter”.
The sources would not comment on the identity of the new financier or financiers.
This is Money has contacted Britishvolt for comment but has received the same response as yesterday.
This said: ‘We are aware of market speculation.
‘We are actively working on a number of possible scenarios that provide the necessary stability. We have no further comment at this time.”
On Monday it was revealed that the battery company was on the brink of being ruled over for failing to receive an advance of £30m in government funding.
Plans have been drawn up to build the battery factory on the expansive 95-acre site of the old Blyth power station, which would create 3,000 new jobs in the Northeast
Britishvolt is struggling to find investors to finance the construction of its battery factory in Blyth, Northumberland.
Plans have been drawn up to build the production site on the expansive 95 hectare site of the old power plant in the northeast.
Not only would it become one of the largest ‘giga factories’ in Europe, once completed it would be the fourth largest building in the UK, providing up to 3,000 additional jobs in the region.
However, construction of the £3.8bn battery factory has already been delayed several times this year and is unlikely to start before 2025, according to Britishvolt’s latest update.
In addition to acquiring tens of millions of pounds in financial backing from FTSE 100 metals firm Glencore, the government’s £100m pledge at the start of the year saw new investors come on board, with a further £1.7bn insured. from British investment giant Abrdn and fund manager Tritax.
However, the company has faced uncertainty in recent months, with co-founder Orral Nadjari leaving the company in July.
Britishvolt was heavily promoted by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of his efforts to defend the UK as a producer of electric car batteries
If built, the facility, which will cost around £3.8 billion, would become one of the largest ‘giga factories’ in Europe and the fourth largest building in all of the UK
It has been in urgent talks to access more funding to pump into its development until it can begin production and provide its own revenue.
Attempts have already been made to raise £200m or to sell the company outright with a number of talks with potential suitors, including India’s Tata Motors, parent company of British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover.
Jim Holder, editor-in-chief of Autocar magazine, said the demise of the gigafactory project would be a “blow to the prospects of car production in the UK”.
He added: ‘As the industry moves away from traditional petrol and diesel vehicles, it will take five or six plants of this scale to keep production at current levels – currently we only have one in the pipeline.
“The UK car industry supports 180,000 jobs in manufacturing and exports worth £77 billion, and without the planned gigafactory in Northumberland we risk falling further behind companies like Asia, the EU and the US in the race to essential infrastructure.’