AMTE Power Thurso Shares Suspension On London Stock Exchange

16th September 2023

Battery manufacturer AMTE Power, which has a plant in Thurso and has had its share trading temporarily suspended on the London Stock Exchange.

In recent months the company has been faced with a precarious financial situation. In July, the company warned it was on the brink of collapse unless it could secure investor backing for a recapitalisation plan. Last week, the firm managed to raise £2.1 million before expenses by placing shares at 1.7 pence each. It also announced plans for a retail offering to raise an additional £250,000 before expenses.

Shares were suspended at 2.24 pence, a drastic drop from their initial floatation price of 175 pence in 2021, which had valued the company at £61m.

To sustain operations, AMTE Power drew down a £580,000 loan facility from Highlands and Enterprise in March and £1m from its convertible loan facility with Arena Investors in April.

The LSE announced the suspension due to "deterioration in settlement performance" following the issue of new shares, which were conditional upon shareholder consent. The decision was implemented under Rule 1510 of the LSE's regulations. Settlement of outstanding transactions can still proceed while the shares remain suspended.

Currently, AMTE Power is in talks with a potential equity investor for an initial investment of £2.5m, expected to be finalised in the coming weeks following due diligence. The company told investors in a statement last week that the funds from the recent placing and the retail offering are intended to buy the company more time while negotiations are ongoing.

I March 2023 AMTE Power reported a loss before tax of £3.72m, rising from a £2.65m loss at the same stage last year.

The company previously said it was considering shifting manufacturing from the UK to the US to benefit from subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act.

AMTE Power was founded in April 2013 by Kevin Brundish, Steve Farmer and Ian Whiting. AMTE secured a production scale manufacturing facility in Thurso, Scotland through the acquisition of AGM Batteries. "AGM was a key participant in the early commercialisation of li-ion."