Britishvolt in talks to secure Northumberland gigafactory

Britishvolt has produced designs of how its "gigafactory" would look but is yet to begin construction

UK battery firm Britishvolt is in talks over a possible sale that could secure the future of a Northumberland factory.

The firm has been developing plans to build a £3.8bn plant producing batteries for electric vehicles in Cambois.

But it has already come close to collapse and been forced 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 its plans to build the site, Britishvolt said.

'Consortium of investors'

In a statement, it said: "Britishvolt is in discussions with a consortium of investors concerning the potential majority sale of the company"

It also said the deal would allow it to "pursue" plans to build a "strong and viable" battery manufacturing business in the UK.

Chairman of Britishvolt Peter Rolton said he wanted to "build and develop" the Northumberland site

In November, the firm's chairman Peter Rolton said he did not want to "sell the site" or "give away the company".

His comments came after the government rejected a £30m advance in funding, as requested by firm bosses, forcing 300 existing staff to take a pay cut.

The government had previously championed the project to the point where it had committed £100m in total to Britishvolt, but refused to allow any funding to be drawn down early.

At the time, Mr Rolton said it had a "reasonable runway of funding in place" and the company was "working absolutely tirelessly" to "get more funding in."

It is understood a sale would mean Britishvolt can continue with developing the factory, until it can begin making a profit from the sale of batteries to carmakers.