2:39 pm, January 9, 2023
Troubled electric car battery maker Britishvolt is in talks with investors over a possible sale.
The move could keep the start-up afloat – it came close to collapse last November but secured five weeks of money from an unnamed investor at the 11th hour.
Its staff of some 300 also agreed to a pay cut to help it cut costs so it could keep its head above water.
Britishvolt has been developing a £3.8bn gigafactory at Cambois, near Blyth, in Northumberland.
The government-backed company issued a statement today, saying: ‘Britishvolt is in discussions with a consortium of investors concerning the potential majority sale of the company.
‘The discussions aim to secure legally binding terms that would provide Britishvolt with the long-term sustainability and funding necessary to enable it to pursue its current plans to build a strong and viable battery cell R&D and manufacturing business in the UK.’
It has already received tens of millions of pounds of financial backing from metals giant Glencore.
A sale would mean it could continue developing the factory until it can start making money from selling its batteries to carmakers.
There were no details in today’s statement about the identity of the investors involved or how much the sale could be worth.
The firm added that further details would be given at the ‘appropriate time’.
Last August, founder Orral Nadjari quit from the post of CEO following leaked documents that said it was on ‘life support’.
Car Dealer Live – the future of the car dealer – exclusive conference features talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among much more. Find out the full event details and book tickets.
