Britishvolt is hoping a last-ditch bid can save the troubled electric vehicle battery manufacturer from falling into administration.
Sources cited by the BBC have claimed “a British consortium” could now be a potential new bidder.
Currently, there are two bidders officially in the running for Britishvolt’s troubled, £4bn gigafactory project – an Indonesian-based investment group with a dormant UK subsidiary and no track record in manufacturing and a group of existing investors who do not wish to see their shares wiped out.
The plant is seen as vital to the future of the car-making industry in the UK, and Boris Johnson had promised £100m to the start-up to assist in tooling the factory while PM.
Thus far the company says it hasn’t received a penny of those funds as their release is conditional on construction milestones being met.
The site’s construction has been repeatedly delayed, with management blaming high energy costs and rising interest rates. The company currently predicts production could start in 2025, two years later than previously planned.
Britishvolt has struggled with liquidity issues since August last year when it’s then chief executive and co-founder Orral Nadjari stepped down after question marks were raised over the funding of the northeast ‘gigafactory.’ Since then the company has lost a further host of senior staff including its head of procurement, head of project manufacturing, head of cell design and engineering, head of production, head of insurance and human resources director.
A buyout of the project is expected to cost around £30m. A full staff meeting is reportedly taking place today following a management meeting yesterday.
If 75 per cent of shareholders cannot be convinced of the merits of one of the bidders this week then the company would be headed back towards the administration it avoided in December thanks to a financial lifeline from existing investor Glencore.
