Concorde successor Reaction Engines scrambles to avert collapse
A British hypersonic aviation campaign which has been hailed as a successor to Concorde is this weekend racing to avert collapse.
Sky News has learnt that Reaction Engines has lined up PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the accountancy firm, to act as administrator if its quest to secure new funding is unsuccessful.
The company is understood to be in detailed talks with the UAE state-backed Strategic Development Fund (SDF), one of its existing shareholders, about an injection of new capital.
A number of Reaction Engines’ other investors are also said to be considering whether to assist with new funding for a company which has previously raised £150m and is now said to require tens of millions of pounds more within weeks.
One source said on Saturday: “They are running out of time.”
PwC is understood to have been placed on standby to oversee an insolvency of Reaction Engines if the financing discussions fail.
The company’s existing investors include BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, the FTSE-100 defence and aerospace companies.
It was unclear whether they would be willing to commit new money to ensure Reaction Engines’ survival.
Founded in 1989, Reaction Engines is chaired by Philip Dunne, a former defence minister.
A specialist in developing advanced propulsion systems, the company is developing a new type of engine aimed at powering aircraft to Mach 25 – or 19,000 miles per hour – outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
This week, Sky News revealed that Artemis, the fund manager, was slashing the value of its 2.3% stake in Reaction Engines by 75% amid concerns about its future and its commercial income.
Read more: Fund manager slashes value of Reaction Engines stake
A statement on Friday from Artemis echoed one issued the previous day by Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust, which said it had decided to cut the value of its holding from £10.6m to £1.4m.
That revalued the entirety of Reaction Engines, whose shareholders also include the FTSE-100 companies BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Holdings, at just £34m – wiping £200m off its overall valuation.
Other fund managers, including Baillie Gifford, are said to be keeping Reaction Engines’ valuation under review.
One asset management source said this week that they continued to have conviction about the potential of the company’s technology and said a successful and substantial fundraising could encourage upward revisions to Reaction Engines’ valuation.
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Sky News revealed last month that the Oxfordshire-based company had appointed Silverpeak, an advisory firm, to oversee a new fundraising.
According to recent updates to shareholders, it grew its commercial revenues by more than 400% last year and is understood to have a strong pipeline of contract and R&D opportunities.
One industry source said the application of Reaction Engines’ cooling technology across a range of existing and in-development military aircraft had the potential to unlock significant short-term and long-term revenues for the company.
They added that the company had also seen interest in its technology for use in hydrogen and battery powered zero-emission commercial flight technologies.
In January last year, Reaction Engines announced that it had raised £40m of additional equity, taking the total sum it had banked from investors to roughly £150m.
Reaction Engines’ ability to attract interest and funding from some of the world’s biggest aerospace companies underlined the excitement it has galvanised among both strategic and financial investors.
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However, it remains lossmaking and earlier in the summer, Mr Dunne said its financial performance last year had “not been in line with our forecasts”.
Warning that Reaction Engines would also be lossmaking this year, he added: “Although the company has a successful track record of raising capital it is clear market conditions are tougher than when we last raised new equity in 2022.”
If it does secure new funding it would be at a steep discount to the last valuation at which it raised and more closely aligned to the pre-money valuation cited this week by fund managers, according to an insider.
In January last year, it announced that it had raised £40m of additional equity, taking the total sum it had banked from investors to roughly £150m.
Mr Dunne added in his update to shareholders that the company’s workforce had been cut earlier this year, with its leadership structure simplified.
This weekend, Reaction Engines declined to comment, while PwC also declined to comment.
A shoplifter has been jailed and banned from every Boots store after stealing £107,000 worth of goods from the high street chain.
Liam Hutchinson, 32, of no fixed address, was sentenced to a year in prison at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
He was also issued with a criminal behaviour order, banning him from every Boots store in the UK for 10 years – and the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea for five years.
Metropolitan Police detectives trawled through hours of CCTV footage to find that Hutchinson had committed 99 shoplifting offences at Boots stores in the borough between May and August 2025.
Hutchinson stealing from shelves in Boots on CCTV. Pic: Met Police
Often stealing large quantities of razors and electrical items, his crimes cost the retailer £107,000 in revenue, Sergeant Jack Vine, of the Met’s volume crime team said.
“We recognised the impact Hutchinson’s actions were having on the retailer, and through working with staff, we built a strong case of evidence against him, which has been reflected in his sentencing,” he added.
“This result should act as a warning that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated, and that we will come down hard on those who show a complete disregard for the law, terrorise retail workers and cost businesses thousands of pounds.”
Liam Hutchinson being caught by officers in bodycam footage. Pic: Met Police
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Nicky Harrop, head of security, fraud, and contract management at Boots, said the company have been investing “significantly” in anti-theft measures to make sure stores “remain a safe and respectful environment” for customers and staff.
The Met says it is prioritising shoplifting, having solved 163% more cases in London compared to the same time last year.
It is also dedicating up to 80 additional officers across London’s West End, with 90 more in high-risk theft areas.
A man has been arrested in the UK by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation into a cyber incident which caused chaos at European airports.
Flights were cancelled at Brussels Airport, and several more were delayed at Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, among others, leaving passengers stranded.
The incident, which was reported on 19 September, hit the systems of Collins Aerospace, which operates check-in and boarding systems.
Passengers reported being unable to check in online, queuing for hours, and their flights eventually not taking off.
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NCA officers, supported by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, arrested a man in his 40s in West Sussex on Tuesday evening on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences. He has been released on conditional bail.
Collins Aerospace, whose network was affected, runs systems for several airlines at multiple airports across the world. Pic: PA
Deputy director Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing.
“Cybercrime is a persistent global threat that continues to cause significant disruption to the UK.
“Alongside our partners here and overseas, the NCA is committed to reducing that threat in order to protect the British public.”
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