Company buyout

Australian battery maker Recharge Industries will buy the assets of the bankrupt British startup Britishvolt. The announcement was made on Monday by audit firm Ernst and Young.

Ernst and Young, which has been externally managing the British company since mid-January, "has considered proposals from several interested parties". "The transaction to acquire Britishvolt will be completed within a week," the auditor said in a statement. Details of the purchase of the British start-up have not yet been made public.

The head of Recharge Industries said the company "can't wait to start building the UK's first battery manufacturing gigafactory".

"Interestingly, many British companies also wanted to acquire Britishvolt's assets. The new owner has an opportunity to gain a foothold in the European market," the BBC quoted Janus Henderson Investors' investment manager Indriatti van Hien as saying.

The British startup, which was touted as an industry leader, was developing its own battery technology and was building a plant in Blythe to produce batteries at a cost of £3.8bn. The collapse of Britishvolt has been described as "a disaster for the British automotive industry".

It is worth noting that Recharge Industries is currently building a battery factory in Geelong, Australia, 75km south-west of Melbourne.