Troubled Loughborough energy tech firm sold for £19.5m

Loughborough-based Intelligent Energy has been sold to Meditor Energy, one of its largest backers, for £19.5m.

Last month the firm said that slower than expected sales meant it was looking at “an uncertain outlook”.

Th company said it expected revenues to drop to around £21m this year – down from £92m last year, and that despite the company cutting losses from £33.4m in 2015/16 to £17m in 2016/17, Intelligent Energy said it didn’t have the money in the bank to fund the current cash burn from product sales alone.

The firm will now delist from the London Stock Exchange.

Talal Shakerchi, chief executive of Meditor Capital Management, the investment adviser to the Meditor European Master Fund, said: “Meditor has been the largest financial stakeholder of Intelligent Energy for over a decade and led the refinancing of the company through the £30 million Convertible Loan Note in May 2016. We remain convinced of the long-term potential of the company’s world-leading fuel cell technology but recognise that, to achieve that potential, the business will need significant further funding and support.”

Martin Bloom, Group chief executive of Intelligent Energy, added: “This support from Meditor for Intelligent Energy’s business provides stability for our workforce and clarity for our customers and suppliers, and allows us to continue to seek to fulfil the objectives of our strategy.”