An Australian company has been named as the preferred bidder to take over failed UK battery firm Britishvolt.
Start-up Recharge Industries was selected by auditors to buy the company, which had planned to build a £3.8 billion ($4.7 billion) plant in northern England that it said would create around 3,000 jobs.
Once considered the UK’s best candidate for a home-grown electric-vehicle battery supplier, Britishvolt was declared bankrupt last month after failing to identify any potential rescuers.
The deal is expected to be completed within the next week, administrator EY said.
“EY is pleased to announce that the joint administrators have entered into an agreement with Scale Facilitation Partners and its indirectly wholly owned subsidiary Recharge Industries Pty Ltd to be the preferred bidder in acquiring the majority of the business and assets of Power by Britishvolt Limited (in administration).
“This follows a process conducted by EY that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received.
“Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur within the next seven days.”
Recharge Industries had submitted one of the two bids received for Britishvolt by the time the deadline for proposals had ended last week, sources said at the time.
The other bid came from a consortium of former Britishvolt investors.
The UK government backed the plans for Britishvolt’s gigafactory in January and said it would support the company with undisclosed funding, understood to be about £100 million.
However, the company has not yet received the funding.
It has faced uncertainty since last summer, when co-founder Orral Nadjari left the firm in July.
In the autumn it held urgent talks for more development funding until it could start production and generate its own revenue.
Recharge Industries is a subsidiary of Scale Facilitation Partners.
In addition to battery research and production through Recharge Industries, Scale Facilitation also invests in medical technology and artificial intelligence.
Recharge Industries is currently developing Australia’s first large-scale lithium-ion cell production facility, according to its website.
“After a competitive and rigorous process, we’re confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved,” said David Collard, chief executive of Scale Facilitation and founder of Recharge Industries.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
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