Bramble Energy

Bramble Energy, a UCL and Imperial College spin-out led by co-founder and CEO Dr Tom Mason, developed hydrogen fuel-cell stacks built on standard printed circuit boards, aiming to make fuel cells cheaper to manufacture in existing PCB factories, alongside electrolysers and sensors for mobility, marine and portable power. It secured a £35M investment round announced by UCL in February 2022 and in 2023 opened a 34,000 sq ft headquarters and Hydrogen Innovation Hub in Crawley, having grown past 80 staff. By late 2025 it had failed to raise fresh funding and ran an accelerated sale of the whole business through an independent adviser; several parties expressed interest but the board concluded there was no reasonable prospect of a solvent transaction and filed notice to appoint administrators in early November. Ian Corfield and Simon Baggs of FRP Advisory were appointed administrators on 17 November 2025. Listed shareholder Hydrogen Capital Growth, which held 12.5 per cent, wrote off its £11M stake.

FRP Advisory were appointed administrators on 17 November 2025 and the registered office moved from Crawley to FRP's London address; a statement of affairs was filed in February 2026 and a progress report in June 2026, with the administration still open. Hydrogen Capital Growth wrote its £11M holding (12.5 per cent) down to zero. The fate of staff, the Crawley facility and the PCB fuel-cell IP had not been reported in the sources found.

A manufacturing-led hydrogen business with a large new facility depended on repeated equity rounds while its main listed backer was itself in managed wind-down and unable to follow on. When the 2025 raise failed, an accelerated sale could not find a solvent buyer in a sector where investor appetite had collapsed.