A Scottish biofuel company which was granted millions of pounds in DTI funding has been liquidated.
Border Biofuels Ltd, which planned to develop electricity plants fuelled by waste timber, had aimed to create 900 jobs, reduce harmful emissions by 110,000 tonnes annually and reach a £60m annual turnover. However, none of its developments has been realised.
The liquidators moved in when one of the creditors, a firm of Glasgow engineers, called for it to be wound up. The company blamed DynaMotive Energy Systems, the Canadian company which took over Border in 2001, for the biofuel businesses’ problems.
About 50 creditors are owed £2.6m. The biggest of 10 DTI grants awarded to the company under the Sustainable Energy Programme was £1.16m towards the cost of a demonstration plant on Arran. A report in The Scotsman newspaper was critical of the DTI, alleging that it continued to subsidise the venture even though it was aware it was £1.5 million in debt to the Bank of Scotland.
DynaMotive imposed major cuts on the business and eventually incorporated it into its London-based DynaMotive Europe operation.
DynaMotive chief executive Andrew Kingston said creditors had not allowed sufficient time for restructuring and refinancing at Border Biofuels to take effect.
The liquidator is Martin Aitken & Co of Glasgow.
