Gigafactory firm Britishvolt mulling London listing
The firm behind the UK’s first battery gigafactory for electric cars has said it is now considering a London listing by the end of next year’s second quarter.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Orral Nadjari, the chief executive of Britishvolt, said that the recent overhaul of London listing rules was behind the decision.
Britishvolt had been due to decide whether to go public in the US via a SPAC deal by the end of June, but has delayed its decision.
Nadjari said: “Britishvolt belongs on the London Stock Exchange. At the back end of the Hill report, we are now seeing more opportunities arising within the UK”.
The firm reportedly wants a direct or technical listing akin to that used by digital payments platform Wise last week. Like the fintech, it is also being advised by Barclays.
At the earliest Britishvolt could go public by the end of the second quarter next year, and Nadjari said he expects to announce some direct purchase orders with car companies by the end of June.
Construction on the £2.6bn plant, which will be located in Blyth in Northumberland, is set to begin at the end of the month.
The plant will be operational by 2023, and by 2027 will produce 300,000 batteries for EVs a year.
It is the first of what is expected to be an industry of rapid growth in recent years, with the UK set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Nissan recently announced that it would also build a gigafactory at its plant in Sunderland, while this morning Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport submitted a planning application for a gigafactory at Coventry Airport.