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Coronavirus: Airbus supplier Gardner Aerospace hunts new backers

Derby-based Gardner Aerospace has asked PwC to lead a search for new investors, Sky News learns.

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport, Tehran
Image: Gardner supplies parts for manufacturers including Airbus
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A Chinese-owned British aerospace firm which has been at the centre of a national security investigation is trying to raise tens of millions of pounds in new funding to help it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sky News has learnt that Gardner Aerospace, which is based in Derby and supplies components to manufacturers including Airbus and Rolls-Royce Holdings, is seeking to secure the additional financing in the coming weeks.

The hunt for new money comes during a torrid period for the aerospace industry, with both Airbus and Rolls-Royce in the process of preparing thousands of permanent job losses.

Steep cuts in orders for new aircraft have created overcapacity at companies in aviation supply chains.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, British airlines alone have announced close to 20,000 job cuts, with more expected if a quarantine for passengers entering the UK is introduced and maintained for a lengthy period.

Gardner, which was bought by Ligeance Aerospace Technologies, almost three years ago, is also a big player in the automotive parts sector.

The company's Chinese ownership has triggered concerns over its plans to buy Impcross, a Gloucester-based manufacturer of parts for military aircraft.

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Tough time for business under lockdown rules

In December, the then business secretary, Andrea Leadsom, said she had referred the Impcross deal to competition regulators on national security grounds.

The Competition and Markets Authority passed its report on the takeover to Alok Sharma, Ms Leadsom's successor, in March.

Its contents, and a decision by Mr Sharma, have yet to be made public.

Gardner employs more than 2,200 people around the world, including in the UK, China, France and India.

The company recorded revenues last year of approximately £230m.

It was bought by Ligeance - which was previously known as Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources - from Better Capital, the private equity group founded by Jon Moulton, the veteran financier.

The search for new investment is being handled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the professional services firm.

A string of prospective backers are understood to have been approached.

Gardner could not be reached for comment on Thursday.