British battery company Britishvolt is in talks over a potential sale that could secure the future of a Northumberland factory.
The company has developed plans to build a £3.8 billion factory to make batteries for electric vehicles in Cambois.
But it’s already on the verge of collapse and has had to delay production by 18 months until mid-2025.
The plant is expected to employ more than 3,000 people.
The sale will provide funding to continue plans to build the site, Britishvolt said.
A statement said: “Britishvolt is in talks with a consortium of investors regarding the potential majority sale of the company.”
It also said the deal would allow it to “pursue” plans to build a “strong and profitable” battery manufacturing business in the UK.
In November, the company’s chairman, Peter Rolton, said he did not want to “sell the site” or “give the company away”.
His comments came after the government rejected a £30million funding advance demanded by company bosses and forced 300 existing employees to take a pay cut.
The Government had previously backed the project to the point where it had pledged a total of £100m to Britishvolt but refused to allow any funds to be drawn early.
At the time, Mr Rolton said it had a “reasonable runway for funding” and that the company was working “absolutely tirelessly” to “get more funding”.
It is understood that a sale would mean Britishvolt can continue developing the factory until it can start making profits from selling batteries to automakers.
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