ALEX BRUMMER: Aerospace sector and the technology it generates is a powerhouse of UK economy – losing control of another group would be body blow to a strategic, innovative industry
- It employs more than 120,000 people, most of them outside London and the south-east
- In normal times, it generates an annual turnover of £35billion, most of which comes from exports
- The toxic combination of the pandemic and an invasion by overseas (and domestic) bargain hunters threatens to demolish it before our eyes
The aerospace sector and the technology it generates is a powerhouse of the UK economy. It employs more than 120,000 people, most of them outside London and the south-east.
In normal times, it generates an annual turnover of £35billion, most of which comes from exports.
The toxic combination of the pandemic, which has deeply scarred the aviation industry, and an invasion by overseas (and domestic) bargain hunters threatens to demolish it before our eyes.
In focus: The latest British company in the sights of a foreign predator is Meggitt
Latest in the sights of a foreign predator is Meggitt, which is being stalked by acquisitive US engineering outfit Woodward.
Meggitt has a British heritage which dates back to 1850 when its forerunner developed the altimeter for the world’s first generation of large hot air balloons.
Now it supplies high-tech instruments to civil aviation, and components for America’s cutting edge F-35 Lightning fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin. The pandemic has had a malevolent impact on Meggitt as it has on the whole aerospace sector from Rolls-Royce to Melrose-owned GKN.
Just how serious the crisis has proved is evident from British Airways -owner IAG’s latest financial results showing a £1bn loss in the first quarter. BA is counting on the opening of air routes between London and North America to power…