Australian company selected as frontrunner to buy Britishvolt
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The company which failed to build a battery factory in the north-east of England is on the brink of being taken over by an Australian firm which has as yet unrealised ambitions to build a similar factory of its own.
Recharge Industries was selected by auditors for Britishvolt as the preferred bidder to take over the majority of the business.
EY said that it had considered “multiple approaches”, but had decided to choose Recharge. It did not provide any reason why.
The deal is expected to finalise within the next week.
We’re thrilled to be progressing with our proposed bid for Britishvolt and can’t wait to get started making a reality of our plans to build the UK’s first gigafactory
“EY is pleased to announce that the Joint Administrators have entered into an agreement with Scale Facilitation Partners LLC and its indirectly wholly owned subsidiary Recharge Industries Pty Ltd to be the preferred bidder in acquiring the majority of the business and assets of Power by Britishvolt Limited,” the auditors said in a short statement on Monday.
“This follows a process conducted by EY that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received.
“Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur within the next seven days.”
Britishvolt collapsed last month, laying off most of its 200 staff.
The business had high ambitions of building a nearly £4 billion battery plant in Cambois, outside Blyth in the North East.
Hopes had been high for the start-up, but it simply never managed to secure enough funding for the project.
However experts say that the site which Britishvolt bought in the North East is a great location for a battery factory.
Recharge Industries founder David Collard said: “We’re thrilled to be progressing with our proposed bid for Britishvolt and can’t wait to get started making a reality of our plans to build the UK’s first gigafactory.
“After a competitive and rigorous process, we’re confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved.”
Recharge, which was founded in 2022, hopes to build a gigafactory of its own close to Melbourne in Australia, but the company is still in the early days of the project.
