Lack of buyer sinks Aquamarine

Scottish wave developer Aquamarine Power is to be liquidated after it failed to find a buyer.

The Edinburgh company, which called in administrators BDO at the end of October, ceased trading on 20 November having received no offers. Aquamarine had 14 staff, 13 based in the Scottish capital and one in Belfast.

BDO business restructuring partner James Stephen said: “Despite a comprehensive marketing process, and after speaking to a number of interested parties, we regret to announce that no offers were made for Aquamarine Power as a going concern, leaving us with no option but to cease to trade the business.”

Stephen added: “Regrettably, this means that 13 jobs have been lost in Edinburgh and one in Belfast. Our duty now as joint administrators is to maximize recoveries from the asset base for the benefit of creditors.”

Industry has since reacted to the “disappointing” news, hailing it as the perfect example of why the government must support the renewables sector.

RenewableUK’s Director of Policy for Technologies, Dujon Goncalves-Collins, said: “It’s very disappointing that no buyer could be found for Aquamarine Power, as it was a flagship company in the wave energy sector, and the ground-breaking technology they developed has repeatedly proved its worth in British waters.

“As the company stated, they were operating in a tough economic climate. So today’s announcement strengthens the case for concerted and co-ordinated action by industry and Government to support and nurture the development of wave energy, to help it to reach commercial maturity and maintain Britain’s position as the global leader in marine energy.

“However, there is now a risk of the UK losing its pole position to other countries which are catching up fast, such as France and Canada. The prize at stake is huge. The global marine energy market is forecast to be worth over £460 billion by 2050, and the wave and tidal energy sector already employs 1,600 people in this country. In the long term, marine power has the potential to supply around one-fifth of the UK’s electricity needs, helping to maintain Britain’s energy security, as well as building a new industry”.   

Aquamarine’s latest accounts show the company made an operating loss of £5.46m in 2014 with total liabilities put at £10.76m. The company reduced its headcount from 46.

The wave developer was backed by majority owner SSE plus leading shareholders ABB and Scottish Enterprise but its inability to attract further private finance played a key role in its troubles.

In August, Aquamarine was awarded £2m by Highland and Islands Enterprise-backed R&D body Wave Energy Scotland for the WavePOD power take-off project, for which it was lead partner. A spokesman for WES said it is considering how to reallocate the funds.

Aquamarine was later awarded €800,000 in EU Horizon 2020 funding to help improve the performance of its Oyster wave energy converter.

Image: Oyster wave energy generator (Aquamarine)