Three-year-old company still faces battle for survival

Car battery manufacturer Britishvolt has said it has received short-term funding to keep going – although staff have been asked to take pay cuts this month because of the cashflow issues.

The company behind ISG’s stalled £300m gigafactory in Northumberland was thought to be on the verge of collapse earlier this week amid claims that accountant EY had been lined up to carry out the administration with the firm reportedly set to run out of money this month.

british 2

Source: Shutterstock

ISG stopped work at the site in Blyth over the summer because of funding worries

But in a statement today, Britishvolt said “We have now secured the necessary near-term investment that we believe enables us to bridge over the coming weeks to a more secure funding position for the future.

“To further reduce our near-term costs, our dedicated employee team has also voluntarily agreed to a temporary salary reduction for the month of November.”

It added it was in talks about extra investment and said: “We are continuing to pursue positive ongoing discussions with potential investors. In addition, we have also received promising approaches from several more international investors in the past few days.”

The firm’s plans to build a 95ha factory in Blyth have received support and funding from government and become a standard bearer for the levelling up agenda.

The company was founded less than three years ago and has memorandums of understanding to manufacture batteries for UK car firms such as Aston Martin and Lotus.

Britishvolt is also building a £200m battery tech centre in the West Midlands, where Winvic is main contractor.