UK lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery developer and manufacturer AMTE Power is appointing administrators after a planned deal with Pinnacle International Capital fell through, Kallanish reports.

A conditional subscription agreement between the parties, first announced on 25 July, sought to raise £2.5 million ($3.17m). A conditional placing agreement to raise a further £400,000 and a £200,000 convertible loan facility were also on the table with Pinnacle – a private equity firm specialising in real estate developments and buyout investments.

However, AMTE Power announced Pinnacle has extended the long stop date for completion of the subscription agreement from 20 December 2023 until 12 January 2024, due to a delay in its due diligence report. While AMTE Power served a drawdown notice, Pinnacle declined to advance funds under the convertible loan facility.

On Tuesday afternoon, ATME requested the AIM to suspend its share trading, later confirming intentions to appoint FRP Advisory as its administrator. “The board has no other options to secure finance in the time available and has therefore concluded that the company has insufficient funds to continue trading,” a security filing stated.

FRP Advisory will manage an “accelerated sale process” to seek potential buyers of the business and assets of the company, though details are yet to be revealed. The company’s general annual meeting scheduled for 20 December has been indefinitely adjourned, and the company says a further announcement will be made “in due course.”

The company, based in Thurso, Scotland, warned in July that it was “days away” from bankruptcy, as it struggled to raise funding to commercialise and scale up its technology. AMTE Power, which has been producing cells for over 30 years at its Thurso factory, was one of the only companies making battery cells in the UK today.

It had planned to ramp up cell production at Thurso and UKBIC production lines, while progressing its proposed megafactory in Dundee, Scotland. The new 500-megawatt plant was planned to start production in 2026 and eventually scale up to gigawatt level.

FRP Advisory hasn’t yet been appointed as administrators, as this is only done after a moratorium period of 10 business days from when the notice to appoint administrators is filed by directors. However, FRP told Kallanish on Wednesday that a team of its restructuring and corporate finance professionals is already inviting interested parties to come forward to express their interest.

“AMTE Power is a leading player in the UK’s battery cell manufacturing capabilities and has an important role as part of the wider infrastructure that supports the nation’s clean energy transition. We expect interest from trade and institutional investors as we work diligently to secure a future for the business,” adds Richard Bloomfield, director at FRP.