Eleventh hour meetings are being held at battery start-up Britishvolt amid moves to save the company and keep plans for a £3bn-plus gigafactory on track.
The Blyth business – which has been leading plans for a job-creating EV battery plant in Cambois capable of producing thousands of batteries a year – last week revealed it was in advanced talks with potential investors to give it “long-term sustainability and funding”. The move follows months of financial struggles, during which top executive team members didn’t take a salary and Government requests for funding pledged a year ago were knocked back.
As of last Friday, two separate bids were understood to have expressed interest in taking a majority stake – one involving private equity investor DeaLab Group leading an Indonesian consortium, and a second rival bid from a number of existing shareholders. Now it has been reported that a third bid, from a British consortium, has been put forward.
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It is understood that an all-staff meeting has been called at Britishvolt for Monday afternoon to update all employees. It has been reported that DeaLab Group has tabled a deal with Barracuda Group worth £32m for 95% of the company – valuing Britishvolt at 96% less than it was worth just a year ago.
The initial offer would be followed by a further £128m investment later in the year. The existing shareholders’ offer is said to be £30m for 92.5% of the company. Britishvolt’s financial troubles include its inability to access a £100m Government grant promised last January, when then Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng hailed the startup’s project at a ceremony in Blyth.
Months later, however, a request to draw down £30m of the funds was refused, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy saying he money would only be released once the firm has met certain milestones including securing private investment and orders from customers.
A spokesman for Britishvolt has declined to comment on the bids for the business.
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