Britishvolt continues emergency funding talks to avoid collapse

The company has been developing a £3.8bn gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland.

Battery start-up Britishvolt is holding emergency talks as it seeks a last-minute reprieve to avoid tumbling into administration (Britishvolt/PA) (PA Media)

Battery start-up Britishvolt is holding emergency talks as it seeks a last-minute reprieve to avoid tumbling into administration.

The company has been developing a £3.8 billion gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland, which it had hoped would employ up to 3,000 workers.

However, it is teetering on the brink of insolvency as it seeks fresh funding in order to continue operations.

It is understood the business has fielded interest from potential investors and has not yet entered administration.

Nevertheless, it has lined up advisers from EY to oversee any potential insolvency process.

There were reports on Tuesday that the company has secured funding to avert collapse but the PA news agency understands discussions are still taking place.

The Government backed the plans for the firm’s gigafactory in January and said it would support Britishvolt with undisclosed funding, understood to be around £100 million. However, the firm has not yet received this funding.

Britishvolt has also received tens of millions of pounds of financial backing from FTSE 100 metals firm Glencore.

On Monday, a spokesman for Britishvolt said it was “working on several potential scenarios that offer the required stability” for it to continue operating.

The company has faced challenges since first announcing plans for the battery site, with co-founder Orral Nadjari leaving the firm in July this year.

In 2020 then-chairman and co-founder Lars Carlstrom said he would resign from the business after PA revealed his historical fraud conviction.

However, he has since turned up in Italy and California, founding companies called Italvolt and Statevolt with plans to create gigafactories there. It is unclear how far these projects have progressed.