Britishvolt: Company behind £3.8bn Cambois gigafactory enters administration following collapse of rescue talks

The car battery manufacturer, which was set to transform the fortunes of south east Northumberland by creating thousands of new jobs, has made the majority of its 300 staff redundant with immediate effect.

Britishvolt was in discussions with investors to sell a majority share in the business, but it was reportedly decided yesterday that none of the proposed bids were viable.

Staff were told the grim news at a meeting at noon today, and administrators from EY have been appointed.

Dan Hurd, Jo Robinson and Alan Hudson of EY Parthenon's turnaround and restructuring strategy team were appointed on Tuesday.

In a statement, the administrators said: “The company has entered into administration due to insufficient equity investment for both the ongoing research it was undertaking and the development of its sites in the Midlands and the North East of England.

“The joint administrators are assessing the options for realising the potential value in the business and assets of the company, including intellectual property and R&D assets, for the benefit of creditors.

“The administrators will subsequently implement an orderly closure and winding down of the company’s affairs, as required.

“As a result, regrettably, the majority of Power by Britishvolt Limited employees have been made redundant with immediate effect.

“All those impacted are being offered appropriate support and advice.”

The firm secured short-term funding in November to stave off administration at that point.

It had asked for £30m of a promised £100m in government funding to be delivered early, but this request was denied by the government.

Staff had recently agreed to take a pay cut and talks with potential investors have been ongoing since the autumn.

Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy, Jonathan Reynolds MP, said: “Conservative economic failure is costing working people and British business.

"The government’s long-term failure on industrial strategy means we are losing the global race for electric vehicle battery manufacturing putting our world-famous car industry at risk.

"Under this government local communities are watching businesses shutting their doors, job opportunities going abroad, and investment leaving Britain.”