Britain’s flying taxi giant has pledged to build its aircraft at home, promising more than 1,000 British jobs and thousands more in large-scale SMEs, after the new government pledged an extra £10 million to help the company avoid offloading to America.
The Vertical Aerospace funding, one of the first commitments of Andy Burnham’s new administration, takes the total taxpayer investment in the program to £48 million. It builds on previous rounds of government support for the company’s Bristol-based electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
For the small and medium-sized engineering companies that form the backbone of Britain’s aerospace supply chain, numbers matter. Vertical says setting up the business in the UK will create up to 1,000 direct jobs and support a further 2,000 3,000 to 3,000 in the supply chain.
Chief executive Stuart Simpson said the funding, which comes with loan commitments from UK Export Finance, means the company will now begin looking at a British aircraft manufacturing site and a battery gigafactory site.
“We’ve been saying to the government this is a great opportunity if we can set up this business in the UK, create 1,000 jobs and support another 2,000 to 3,000 in the supply chain,” said Simpson. “Now we can after this huge vote of confidence from the UK government in Vertical.”
He added: “This is our aerospace sector and the UK’s opportunity to lead the next generation of aviation.” The UK has supported us from the start of this project and with the help proposed we can build aircraft that will be shipped to customers around the world.
Direct plans to build Valo’s flying taxis at its development facilities at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, targeting certification by 2029 and entry into service soon after. It aims to produce 150 aircraft in its first year, rising to 1,000 a year from 2030.
The six-seater Valo, with a top speed of 150mph and a range of 100 miles, is seen in the long run as a replacement for noisy, gas-guzzling helicopters. The first flight is likely to transport passengers between London and Heathrow, with similar plans for New York. A hybrid military version with an on-board gas turbine generator, capable of a range of up to 1,000 miles, is being planned.
The company took another step forward at the Farnborough Air Show on Monday with the first public prototype aircraft that preceded the Valo, the VX4. The decision to expand in Britain also comes in an industry already struggling to fill 10,000 vacancies a year, a reminder that the jobs promised will need a skills pipeline to match.
The real question was whether Vertical, founded by Ovo Energy entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick but now controlled by an American hedge fund, would be forced abroad, probably in the US, to finance the new production facility. Ministerial responses to the sector have been mixed, with a £46.5 million package to speed up drones and flying taxis announced in May.
Business owners tempted to chase the flying taxi gold should be aware of the chaos that lies ahead. Vertical endured prototype performance failures, the withdrawal of Rolls-Royce’s support and a lack of cash that forced Fitzpatrick to relinquish control. Valued at more than $2 billion when it joined the New York Stock Exchange, its market value is now a tenth of that.
Simpson stressed that the company has access to $800 million in potential funding to reach certification, at which point it will need to raise more to go into production.
Skeptics have long dismissed flying taxis as a chimera of the future, and many firms have tried hard. Yet at Farnborough this week, some of the biggest news revolved around not just Vertical but American peers Joby, Archer and Beta Technologies, all of whom have a significant presence at the show.
