Britishvolt falls into administration

Britishvolt, an ambitious project to produce batteries in the UK, has failed to stave off a collapse into administration.

Earlier this month the company said it was in talks with a consortium of investors about a potential majority sale that would have provided it with long-term sustainability and funding to pursue its plans.

Britishvolt entered administration on Tuesday. Dan Christopher Hurd, Joanne Honor Robinson and Alan Michael Hudson of EY Parthenon were appointed as joint administrators by the company directors, according to a message on its website.

It is expected that the creditors of the company will not be repaid in full and there will be no funds available for distribution to shareholders.

Launched in 2019, Britishvolt was seeking to build a GBP-3.8-billion (USD 4.7bn/EUR 4.3bn) lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland. The UK government had committed to supporting the planned factory to help establish an electric vehicle supply chain in the UK.

Bulgarian battery manufacturer Monbat (FRA:5MB), meanwhile, is seeing some effect. It advised on Tuesday of a slight delay to a bond repayment because of an unfinalised deal with Britishvolt. The Bulgarian company in May 2022 agreed to dispose of its German-based lithium-ion subsidiary Monbat Holding GmbH to Britishvolt at an overall valuation of EUR 36 million (USD 39m).

(GBP 1 = USD 1.224/EUR 1.129)

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