Rocket launch services company Orbex is setting up a new office in London to facilitate further fundraising while also expanding its headquarters in northern Scotland.

Chief executive Phil Chambers said it was a "huge milestone" as the company becomes the first UK rocket manufacturer to establish a base in London while also expanding its facilities in Forres on the Moray coast. Its headquarters will grow by 400sq metres allowing for the addition of design, analysis, planning and testing staff to further develop the company's Orbex Prime rocket, which is in pre-launch testing.

Prime is a 19-metre two-stage rocket that will transport small satellites into low Earth orbit and has been engineered to leave zero debris in space. The rockets will be launched from the Sutherland Spaceport on the A' Mhoine peninsula on the north coast of Scotland, which is operated by Orbex.

“Orbex is one of only two space rocket manufacturers in the UK, and the only one to also operate its own spaceport," Mr Chambers said. "We are entering a critical phase of development and require greater facilities to develop the crucial technology required to make the UK a hub for European orbital launch.

“Establishing a base in London and growing our facilities in Forres is another huge milestone for us. We need the right capabilities to develop Orbex Prime, and the right boots on the ground in London to engage with current and new stakeholders and investors.”

In April Orbex announced that it had secured £16.7 million in follow-on funding to complete work on its microlaunch vehicle and Sutherland Spaceport.

The cash injection was an update to a £40.4m Series C funding round completed in October 2022 and included a group of six significant investors led by the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB). It followed receipt of £3.3m from the UK Space Agency in December of last year and takes the total funds raised to date by the business to £102m.

Matt Archer, director of launch at the UK Space Agency, said the expansion by Orbex demonstrates how the growing launch sector is creating high-quality jobs across the UK.

"These strategic moves will help accelerate innovation, increase investment opportunities, and ultimately support the company in its mission to become a leading provider of launch services," he added. “We continue to work closely with the team at Orbex as it ramps up development of its Prime rocket and the Sutherland spaceport.”

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(Image: Gordon Terris)

Edinburgh has climbed above Greater Manchester in the latest foreign direct investment attractiveness league table of UK city locations, a study shows.

The Scottish capital climbed two places to secure sixth position, also moving above Birmingham, the study produced by law firms Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, and Irwin Mitchell shows.

Glasgow meanwhile climbed four places to 11th spot.

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‘Landmark moment’ as study shows about half of Scottish entrepreneurs female

(Image: Archant)

Researchers have hailed a “landmark moment” for Scotland after a study showed that women accounted for around half of all entrepreneurs last year.

The global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM), an annual measure of entrepreneurship, found 8.6% of working-age women in Scotland were running or setting up a new business in 2023 compared with 9.8% of men, something the report describes as “statistical parity”.

This compares with 7.2% of women and 10.5% of men in 2022.

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