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Raises £660,000 to Capitalise on New Opportunities in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Sector
Strat Aero plc, an international aerospace services company, has raised £660,000, before expenses, through the issue of 7,333,334 new ordinary shares at 9p per share. This funding marks a significant step for Strat Aero as it continues to realise its strategy of capitalising on commercial opportunities across the rapidly growing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle sector.
Highlights
· Proceeds will be used to progress the Company’s three primary divisions:
o Unmanned Aerial Systems Pilot Training and Services;
o Aviation Management and Consultancy Services; and
o Aviation Software, Products and Services
UAS Pilot Training and Services
· Initial training of United States Air Force instructors at the fully functional and multi-faceted UAS Training Centre in Roswell, New Mexico, to commence in Q1 2015.
· Discussions at an advanced stage with the Government of the Netherlands to establish a multi-rotor and fixed wing UAV training centre at the former Valkenburg Air Base in the Netherlands
· Negotiations at an advanced stage to secure multi-year contract with the Army Research Laboratory, a US Department which specialises in developing commercial applications from military hardware
· Direct contract with ARL would be independent of agreement signed in February 2015 with 4D Tech Solutions, Inc (‘4D’), an established software provider to ARL, for the provision of services under an existing budget of up to US$4 million over the next 12 months
· Advanced discussions with four major wind farm operators in the US to provide UAV turbine and blade inspection services across their respective wind farm sites – one potential customer operates 3,000 turbines
Aviation Software, Products and Services
· Pipeline of contracts with leading services providers for proprietary Aerospace Information Manager Software
Aviation Management and Consultancy Services
· Contracted work for the Cyprus Aviation Authority with respect to the provision of regulation guidance and the development of training manuals is proceeding on schedule
· Consulting services to a number of national aviation authorities in the Middle East and Africa is on-going
· Work continuing on project managing the establishment of a new low cost airline in the Middle East – current focus on initiative to accelerate development and reduce costs
Capt. Russell Peck, CEO of Strat Aero, said:
“Since listing Strat Aero in November 2014, the Board has been busy identifying numerous revenue generative and value accretive opportunities across the aerospace and aviation industry and we have made solid progress in advancing these discussions over the past four months. The funds raised today will provide the Company with the ability to secure and develop these contracts and relationships as we look to establish a portfolio of scalable commercial interests to provide maximum returns for shareholders across the dynamic and rapidly growing aviation and aerospace sector.
“We have made a great start but we have merely scratched the surface in terms of the enormous emerging commercial and military UAV market. We have formal relationships with high end participants across the value chain, including major customers such as the US Government, equipment suppliers including a leading US defence contractor, and research hubs such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a division of the US Department of Energy. Combined with our unique UAS training Facility in Roswell, New Mexico, where training is due to commence in the coming months, and our proven expertise in navigating the evolving regulatory landscape, Strat Aero has an established platform in place from which we can roll out our full UAS service offering and capitalise on the multiple opportunities we are seeing.
“We look forward to providing further updates to the market as we progress the numerous opportunities available to us.”
