According to recent reports, the founder of the failed battery startup Britishvolt, Orral Nadjari, is planning to make a bid to purchase the business from administrators. Nadjari launched Britishvolt four years ago with the aim of building a £3.8bn gigafactory in the North East capable of producing around 300,000 electric vehicle batteries annually.
However, last summer, the former CEO stepped down, saying it was the right time to leave the company. Since then, the firm has struggled financially and entered administration, with only a few of its 250+ employees being kept on to manage the firm’s affairs as it searches for a buyer.
Financial Times reports that Mr. Nadjari is one of the bidders for the bankrupt business, having submitted a non-binding bid for the company with the joint administrators EY last week, and is expected to make a binding offer before the deadline. The funding for the bid, which is estimated to be between £25m and £30m, is reported to have been raised from individuals in the UAE. The report also says that Mr. Nadjari is mainly interested in the company’s battery technology, not the factory site at Cambois.
More than a dozen bidders have come forward since the firm’s collapse two weeks ago, with some said to be interested in taking the Cambois site forward. Last week, Australian startup Recharge Industries launched a preliminary bid for the company, with its founder David Collard saying he intended to visit the site and meet government officials before making a formal offer. Other interested bidders include Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, and DeaLab, the London-based financial group whose previous bid was rejected by shareholders.
Paul Butler, CEO of the North East Automotive Alliance, said: “We are the largest automotive cluster in the UK and remain the powerhouse for UK electrification. We are committed to supporting our members and the sector and are ready to assist new investors who can take the Cambois site forward.”
