UK battery start-up Britishvolt on brink of administration
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Troubled British battery start-up Britishvolt is on the brink of falling under government as early as today, putting some 300 jobs in the UK at risk, according to reports.
The company has developed Britain’s largest electric vehicle battery factory in Blyth, Northumberland, with a £3.8 billion gigafactory which will employ up to 3,000 workers by the time it is fully operational.
However, the group has been in emergency talks for the past few weeks to raise money and could go bankrupt this week, even today, the company says. Financial times to have spoken to three people ‘with knowledge of the facts’.
Britain’s largest battery factory at risk: Start-up Britishvolt reportedly slipping into administration today (Monday) as it failed to secure funding for its ambitious factory plans
A Britishvolt spokesperson told This is Money: ‘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.”
It is clear that Britishvolt has appointed advisers from EY to oversee the potential administration process.
The government backed plans for the gigafactory in January, saying it would support Britishvolt with undisclosed funding, estimated at around £100 million.
However, the company has not yet received this funding.
Britishvolt has also secured tens of millions of pounds of financial backing from FTSE 100 metals firm Glencore, which saw its shares plummet when the news broke Monday morning.
The company has faced uncertainty in recent months, with co-founder Orral Nadjari leaving the company in July.
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.
The company has developed Britain’s largest electric vehicle battery factory in Blyth, Northumberland, with a £3.8 billion gigafactory that will employ up to 3,000 workers.
The government backed plans for the gigafactory in January and said it would support it with undisclosed funding, expected to be around £100 million. This has not been received
In March, the start-up announced a partnership with British carmaker Aston Martin to develop high-performance batteries that would ‘set new standards for repeatable performance, charging and range on the track’ for its fleet of future luxury vehicles.
The two companies planned to establish a joint research and development team to design and develop battery packs and a battery management system, they said.
The news of a possible impending collapse of the ambitious project will be a hammer blow to the government’s intentions to see Britain become a leader in electric vehicles in the future.
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.
Politicians and manufacturers had hoped the gigafactory would make the UK less dependent on foreign imports and revitalize the British car industry.
The Financial Times says the news is likely to trigger a “rush” to secure the Blyth site, the expansive 95-acre site of the old power plant in the northeast.
It is considered one of the best battery making sites in the country due to its deep seaport, strong rail links and the potential for clean energy generation from offshore wind farms.
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
The proposed factory, built on the extensive site of the former Blyth Power Station, would become Britain’s fourth largest building
After reports that Britishvolt may enter the administration, shadow secretary of state Jonathan Reynolds said: “This disastrous news is another reminder that the economic crisis in Downing Street is costing jobs and investment.
It’s a face that has become all too familiar: companies going under, jobs lost and investments in the industries of the future going abroad rather than the UK.
“The blame here lies with a Conservative government that has brought the UK economy down for over 12 years, failed to support growing industries as other countries have done, and has completely failed to grow our economy. ‘
Britishvolt’s plans were for it to become one of the largest ‘giga factories’ in Europe and – once completed – the fourth largest building in all of the UK, creating up to 3,000 additional jobs in the North East.
Today’s news means that the Envision AESC plant, which is being built next to Nissan’s car plant in Sunderland, will become Britain’s first gigafactory for electric vehicle batteries, with production from 2024.
The company that produces the electric black taxi has today confirmed it will cut 140 jobs at its factory on the outskirts of Coventry
Electric black cab manufacturer cuts 140 jobs in Coventry
LEVC, the manufacturer that produces the electric black taxi, also announced on Monday that it will lay off about 20 percent of its staff.
Around 140 jobs will be lost at the brand’s Coventry factory after a turbulent sales period due to supply chain disruption and ‘global economic challenges’.
The company, which is owned by the Chinese firm Geely, supplied just 1,620 vans and taxis last year, with a pre-tax loss of £118 million.
LEVC – which stands for London Electric Vehicle Company – supplied just 1,620 vans and taxis last year, with a pre-tax loss of £118 million. It blamed supply chain disruption and ‘global economic challenges’ for a slowdown in sales
It said it expects a new wave of products to boost sales next year.
The London Taxi Company, since renamed London Electric Vehicle Company, faced administration in 2013 before the Zhejing Geely Holding Group intervened to save the company.
It opened a £300 million factory in Ansty in 2017 and initially created over 1,000 jobs.
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