Vertical Aerospace, an electric flying taxi company, received $50 million from its founder in order to stay airborne.
Stephen Fitzpatrick is the Northern Irish businessman behind Ovo Energy. He will invest $25 million in equity capital at $10 per share initially, and another $25 million at an undisclosed price by the end July. If the company can secure equity funding through alternative sources, this amount will be reduced.
He said: “We received offers of external investments, but the share prices did not reflect the technical progress that we had made. Rather than accept external money for a diluted value, I wanted show my confidence in our team and our technology, and the UK’s capability to design electric aircraft.”
Fitzpatrick started the company in 2016 and is now burning cash to develop a fleet electric vertical takeoffs and landings vehicles powered by batteries. These are known as eVTOLs. They are cheaper, quieter and more environmentally friendly than conventional aircraft. The funding will allow the company to continue operating until the middle of the next year.
Vertical Aerospace floated a shell company in New York in 2021. Since then, its share price is down by over 95 percent. Fitzpatrick has veto power over certain share issues and appointments as long as he maintains a stake above a threshold.
Fitzpatrick stated that he didn’t regret the US flotation, as it was the “best way to raise funds for a high-growth small-cap opportunity” at the moment.
The business has had a turbulent time. The business has been experiencing a turbulent period. A prototype crashed during an unmanned flight in August, and the company did not raise the new funding they had planned for the end of the last year.
Fitzpatrick stated that “the share prices of all technology companies have taken a huge hit in the past 24 months.” The general climate for investing in small-cap firms has been very poor. Vertical’s technical progress and the shift in attitude will be evident in the next six-months, and we will prove that we are the leaders in the world for eVTOL.
Civil Aviation Authority said that eVTOLS could be commercially launched by 2027. Two years ago, the first “vertiport”, a terminal for air taxis that is seen as an important step in the direction of widespread use, opened in Coventry.
Vertical Aerospace says it has 1,500 preorders worth more than $5 billion from American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Bristow for its four-passenger VX4 aircraft. American Airlines, Rolls-Royce Honeywell, and Avolon are among its equity investors. The company is based in Bristol and employs 300 employees. It also has a battery center in Avonmouth, as well as a flight testing centre at Cotswold Airport.