Scottish rocket company, Orbex, is due to appoint administrators following the collapse of talks over fundraising and a potential merger.
Orbex, based in Forres, will continue trading while all options for the future of the company are explored, including potential sale of all or parts of its business or assets.
The notice provides short-term protection and allows the business time to secure as positive an outcome as possible for its creditors, employees and wider stakeholders.
The funding required for Orbex to remain a viable business was sought from a variety of public and private investors during its Series D funding round, which has ultimately failed. Several merger and acquisition opportunities have also been explored, with none resulting in a favourable outcome.
It was close to concluding a deal with The Exploration Company, based in Munich, which had hoped Orbex’s assets would help it build a pan-European business to compete with US rivals. It is not known whether it will seek to buy assets through the administration process.
The failure of the company will come as a big blow to Scotland’s fledgling space industry. Just before Christmas a major event, the Space Comm Expo, was held in Glasgow to promote the sector. Scottish business minister Richard Lochhead had described Orbex as a “trail blazing space company” and a “rising star of Scotland’s space sector”.
However, its Danish subsidiary is moving into bankruptcy with 90 employees losing their jobs and Will Whitehorn, a pioneer of the sector, has warned that the UK and Scottish governments are not providing sufficient support for the sector.
Phil Chambers, CEO of Orbex, said: “Disappointing doesn’t come close to describing how we feel about this moment.
“We have been successfully developing a sustainable, world-class sovereign space launch capability for the UK and were on the cusp of our first test flights later this year.
“It is no secret that designing and building space rockets to enable a launch service is a capital-intensive, highly advanced process with a long development cycle that creates a ‘scale-up’ funding gap.
“Institutional support is a crucial to bridge this gap and we have worked tirelessly to try to find both funding or rescue solutions.
“What is most disappointing is that we have brought hundreds of skilled jobs to Scotland; we have been at the vanguard of the UK’s space ambitions; we have led the way in driving good news about the UK’s space sector. Yet all of this progress now risks being undone – and it is real people who will feel the consequences.”
The first test launches of Orbex’s microlauncher Prime were due to take place later this year. Orbex already has commercial launch commitments from several satellite customers for Prime, which is one of the most advanced, low-carbon microlaunchers in the world.
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