Britishvolt buys an Australian electric battery manufacturer out of administration

After Lord Botham, an Australian businessman, bought the assets of Britishvolt , which had been in decline, plans for a UK electric battery gigafactory were revived.

Recharge Industries was able to fend off interest from several companies in order to be selected as the preferred bidder.

Britishvolt went into administration in January after it failed to secure a rescue package for its plans to build an PS3.8bn gigafactory close to Blyth. The plant was funded by PS100m of government funds.

David Collard, founder and chief executive officer of Scale Foundation, stated that Recharge Industries was thrilled to have an Australian subsidiary and said they were “excited” to make the plans for the UK’s first gigafactory a reality.

He said, “After a rigorous and competitive process, we are confident that our proposal will result in a strong outcome.

Before the bid, Mr Collard thanked Lord Botham earlier for his “proactive assistance” to Lord Botham, the UK-Australian trade ambassador.

Britishvolt collapsed in January, resulting in the dismissal of more than 200 employees.

Britishvolt’s EY joint administrators stated that the deal was for most of the company’s assets and business. The company lost 200 employees last month when it went into administration.

Scale Facilitation Partners is the international trade consultancy, based in Geelong or Manhattan.

It indirectly controls Recharge Industries, a battery manufacturer.

EY stated that the deal was reached after administrators had considered multiple approaches, with numerous offers for the failing electric battery maker.

The acquisition will be completed in the next seven days, it said.