Electric battery start-up Britishvolt is in discussions to sell a majority stake in the company in a rescue deal.
The Blyth business has been working on plans to create a £3.8bn gigafactory in Cambois which it hopes could produce hundreds of thousands of electric vehicle batteries, while directly employing up to 3,000 workers and 5,000 more in its supply chain. Financial troubles, however, led to the firm seeking out new owners, with financial advisors Lazard apparently being instructed to find funding as soon as possible.
The investment call was issued after Britishvolt was told it could not draw down on Government funding of around £100m, which was first pledged at the start of last year, until it reached a number of milestones, including securing orders. Last October Britishvolt avoided falling into administration, after sealing an eleventh hour funding injection from existing investors.
