AMTE Power - Case Update

Richard Bloomfield, Michelle Elliot and Ian Corfield of FRP Advisory, the joint administrators of AMTE Power PLC, have filed their proposals outlining what led the Thurso-based battery manufacturer to enter administration, and providing details of the pre-pack sale of the business and assets to Dutch battery technology firm LionVolt.

The company was incorporated in April 2013 to specialize in producing batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. It launched a successful IPO on AIM in March 2021. However, for the period ended 2021, the company made a loss of £3.8 million prior to tax. A new board was appointed and identified that the company had a significant funding gap and two of the five products it was developing had been significantly delayed arising from difficulties in scaling up. This meant that plans for a gigafactory in Dundee were placed on hold.

In March 2023, the company was still suffering working capital pressures and a series of fund-raisers did not secure the required level of funds, leading to further delays in product development. On the advice of Saffreys, the company’s accountants, it approached FRP to provide advisory services in May 2023. A report delivered by FRP in June showed that the company needed £4-6 million in funding to survive the calendar year and that the company wouldn’t be able to fund wages for July 2023 without additional funding.

FRP were instructed to launch an AMA process to pursue a sale of the business, as well as to conduct a contingency planning exercise. Despite initial interest, no viable offer was received. In July, the company’s brokers received an offer of investment from a Saudi Arabian investment company, Pinnacle International Capital Corp. Unfortunately, the due diligence took longer than expected and by late 2023 the deal was not finalised. FRP were not involved in the process of pursuing this transaction but were reengaged in December.

An NOI was filed on 19 December and an AMA process was immediately commenced, resulting in several offers being received and a £3.05 million offer from LionVolt being declared the successful bid. The offer was comprehensive and provided proof of funds with very limited due diligence. The CEO of LionVolt is Kevin Brundish, who is also a non-executive director and a co-founder of the company.

The company was placed into administration, but lengthy dialogue with the landlord meant the transaction didn’t complete until 25 January. 20 jobs have been saved.

The joint administrators’ proposals can be found HERE. They have been assisted by Osborne Clarke and Brodies (legal) and Hilco (agents).