The company had been considering an administration as early as Monday, two sources with knowledge of Britishvolt’s operations told the Guardian. Britishvolt has lined up accountancy firm EY to run the administration if it goes ahead. However, a source warned that Britishvolt was still looking at other options to try to find a last-ditch saviour, with management likely later in the week if those talks fail. The company is believed to have cash reserves to last at most a few weeks without further support. A spokesman for Britishvolt said: “It is the company’s policy not to comment on market speculation.” The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), maker of electric taxis widely used in the capital, announced separately on Monday that it would cut 140 jobs, capping a difficult day for the UK car industry. The Coventry-based business, which is owned by Chinese car group Zhejiang Geely, had around 500 employees in total at the start of 2020. The cuts, which were planned to be achieved through voluntary redundancies, came in response to the pandemic, disruption to supply chains and “significant global economic challenges,” LEVC said in a statement. Britishvolt was founded less than three years ago with the ambitious goal of building a massive factory capable of supplying batteries to car manufacturers. It quickly became a flagship project for the UK car industry and won the support of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who repeatedly cited the project as an example of Britain leading the way away from fossil fuels. The government eventually promised the company £100 million in financial support while the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was chancellor. However, Britishvolt has yet to receive the money, which was meant for tooling equipment within the factory, which has not been purchased. However, a collapse of the business could prove embarrassing for the Conservative government. Labor MP Ian Lavery told the BBC on Monday that Britishvolt chairman Peter Rolton had asked the government to provide £30m of support but that business secretary Grant Shapps had refused the request. Labour, which has pledged to support investment in at least three major UK factories, said the government’s lack of support for growth industries compared to other countries was a “scandal”. Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said: “This devastating news is a further reminder that the financial crisis that hit Downing Street is costing jobs and investment. “It’s a sight that has become all too familiar – businesses are being lost, jobs are being lost and investment in the industries of the future is going overseas rather than to the UK.” Britishvolt has been struggling with disruption for months. Co-founder Orral Nadjari left the company in July and the Guardian revealed in August that it had put construction work for its factory on “life support” to save cash. There followed several months of increasingly urgent talks with potential investors to help cover Britishvolt’s rapidly rising costs until it could start producing batteries and receive its first revenue. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Britishvolt has acknowledged financial difficulties, although it has blamed worsening market conditions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Graham Hoare, a former executive at US carmaker Ford who took over after Nadjari left, told the Financial Times the business needed to raise £200m in capital to survive until next summer. Britishvolt has managed to attract tens of millions of pounds of investment from prominent companies including Glencore and equipment hire company Ashtead, both members of the FTSE 100. It has also won a pledge of support from Tritax, a property investment company majority-owned by the investor of the FTSE 100 ex. But it has struggled to secure the next stage of investment, leaving it burning through £3m a month to pay the wages of 300 people, according to the Financial Times. EY declined to comment. The business department has been approached for comment.
