The site of a would-be gigafactory owned by defunct Britishvolt is now destined to become a data centre. The plans are outlined in a report to be considered on 23 April by Northumberland County Council.
A report to the cabinet by council leader Glen Sanderson seeks permission of the council’s cabinet to buy Northumberland Energy Park Phase 3 and provide for a significant private sector investment, and to create a growth and investment fund worth up to £110 million ($137 million).
The deal would entail a buyback agreement with an entity owned by funds managed by affiliates of US private equity manager Blackstone.
Sanderson’s report reveals that Britishvolt – which went bust in December 2022 with only initial site preparation done – left a charge on the land following a multi-million pound loan secured against the land through Katch Investment Group.
Cllr Sanderson told BEST: “The Council has not been charged anything so far as I am aware, and has not paid out any money.”
The council bought the land for £4 million ($5 million) from its then owners RWE and sold it on to Britishvolt for the same amount. That agreement contained an option for the council to buy the land back for the same amount should land development milestones not be achieved.
It has since been in discussions with the receivers and administrators, and the UK government. Australian company Recharge Industries took over Britishvolt after it went into administration. It has reportedly been hit with a winding up petition over unpaid wages and other money owed.
The current proposal is that the land be developed into “a major hyperscale cloud and/or AI data centre campus”. It would be delivered by QTS, a US data centre group acquired by Blackstone for $10 billion in 2021.
The inward investment would be up to £10 billion, with a further £5–10 billion from tenants, Sanderson’s report stated.
