Pioneering wave power firm for sale

LEITH-BASED green energy pioneer Pelamis Wave Power is up for sale in a bid to raise new finance for its innovative work.

The company has received £45 million funding from venture capital groups since it started in 1998.

An outlay of £20 million is understood to be needed over the next few years to bring Pelamis’s technology to fruition.

It hopes to attract interest from UK-based companies like BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Weir, but others may also be canvassed, including Siemens of Germany, Caterpillar of the US, Swiss firm ABB and Alstom of France.

Pelamis chief executive Per Hornung Pedersen said: “We have reached the stage where it makes most sense to look for financial support from a large engineering company rather than to seek further investment from venture capital groups.”

He said he favoured a British buyer.