Recharge looks to rehire former Britishvolt execs as rescue deal falters
The Aussie power group that recently bought Britishvolt is reportedly in talks to rehire two former top executives, amid concerns its rescue attempt for the collapsed battery maker is faltering.
Recharge Industries approached former Britishvolt chairman Peter Rolton to be chief operating office and its former chief operating officer Tony Laydon to be chief executive, according to The Sunday Times.
Recharge, which is run by former PwC partner David Collard, bought Britishvolt out of administration for £8.6m last month.
However, there are concerns over the deal after Recharge missed a deadline last Friday to pay £9.7m to Katch Fund Solutions, a finance firm that has a hold over the land.
The company is also reportedly in dispute with Britishvolt’s administrator EY over a fee for a power-supply contract for the site.
Recharge is reportedly threatening to walk away from buying the site if there is uncertainty over the status of its access to a grid connection with National Grid.
A spokesperson for EY told Morning Wire said it was “not requesting that Recharge make any additional payments beyond those contractually agreed as part of the sale”.
Recharge and Katch and the government have been approached for comment.
The potential new hires come as Recharge looks to resurrect plans to build a “gigafactory” in Blyth, Northumberland, with EY estimating it will cost between £3bn-£6bn to complete.