Reaction Engines, a company based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, has seen its value fall by approximately £200 million. This is due to fund managers Artemis Alpha Trust plc and Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust writing down the value of their holdings. The company was founded in 1989 and has developed a Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine known as SABRE. SABRE contains precooler technology capable of handling extreme temperatures at incredibly high speeds. Since 2015, the company’s focus has shifted from research and development to industry sponsorship. Reaction Engines has worked with the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency, with the UK government investing £60m in SABRE as part of a ‘strategic approach to space’.
Although the company has made significant progress in commercialising its innovative technology, its recent revenue growth has been slower than anticipated, according to Artemis. The company’s commercial revenues grew by over 400% last year and it reportedly has a pipeline of contract and R&D opportunities, including military aircraft, hydrogen-powered commercial flight, and heat pumps. Reaction Engines is now seeking to raise further investment via an internally-led fundraise at a discount to the last valuation.
Schroders has cut the value of its holding from £10.6m to £1.4m, resulting in an 87% reduction. Artemis has written down its holding by 75%, in addition to a write-down of 25% compared to the 30th April 2024 year-end valuation. Reaction Engines is chaired by Philip Dunne, a former defence minister, and led by Mark Thomas, a former Rolls Royce employee. Shareholders in the company include BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Holdings. In 2020, Thomas stated that the company is looking to go hypersonic, which is more than double the speed of Concorde and a completely different threat domain.
