Australian firm named as preferred bidder for Britishvolt

An Australian firm, Recharge Industries, has been named as the preferred bidder for Britishvolt.

The UK battery start-up, which planned to build a £3.8 billion gigafactory in Blyth, entered administration last month, with about 300 staff made redundant with immediate effect.  

Recharge Industries, which is owned by New York fund Scale Facilitation Partners, has entered an agreement to buy Britishvolt's business and assets, according to the accountancy firm EY.

“Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur within the next seven days,” a spokesman told the BBC.

Jordan Roberts, analyst at Fastmarkets NewGen, said: “It is not surprising that Britishvolt has attracted a number of potential buyers, but perhaps a little surprising it has not gone to one of a number of British bidders.

“However, few can have any complaints if it provides the necessary injection to progress into production, vital to securing the future of UK car manufacturing.

“Recharge’s intentions for the Britishvolt business have not been detailed, but its US ownership and location in Australia, may finally provide the missing pieces of the jigsaw (capital, raw material supply and customers) to get the project off the ground.”

Recharge is building a battery-making factory in Geelong, Melbourne which will begin operating in 2024.

EY said it followed a process "that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received".

The Government had committed £100m in funding for the project.