Islander Manufacturer Britten-Norman Secures Private Equity Deal

Britten-Norman, the UK-based regional aircraft manufacturer behind the Islander short takeoff and landing (STOL) turboprop, has secured new investment from a group of investors led by private equity firm 4D Capital Partners.

The deal involves the sale of the manufacturer’s business and assets that it says will fund working capital and fuel long-term growth.

Britten-Norman has in recent weeks been working to secure fresh funding to support the production ramp-up of its Islander commercial light twin aircraft. The final deal involved the appointment of administrators from Interpath Advisory.

“The board has been in an extended process to secure the right investment that would allow Britten-Norman to deliver its plans to scale up output to meet demand,” Britten-Norman CEO William Hynett said. “Britten-Norman is a brand with a rich and entrepreneurial aviation heritage which takes great responsibility in playing a vitally important role in supporting its worldwide customer base. These customers are the bedrock of their societies, often providing critical infrastructure or life-critical services such as maritime search and rescue and medical evacuation. Following a great deal of interest in the business, we are pleased to have identified a new investor that shares our vision and strategy.”

In a separate statement, Interpath Advisory clarified that all 117 staff would be transferred to the new entity as part of the deal.

“The transactions secure the sale of the business and assets of the group and the transfer of all 117 staff to Britten-Norman Aerospace Limited across its head office and manufacturing site on the Isle of Wight, hangars in Lee-on-Solent, its design and engineering site in Southampton and sales office in London,” Interpath Advisory said.

“From the outset, we saw the latent value in Britten-Norman, which has been underperforming since the pandemic,” 4D founder Alex Silk said. “In addition to bringing working capital, our team will work closely with management to help the company ramp up production to meet ... demand for its sought-after Islander aircraft.”

“Britten-Norman is an important part of the UK aerospace industry that has a long track record of supplying world-renowned aircraft,” Chris Pole, MD at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator of the companies, said. “We’re proud to have secured a future for the business and enable the management team to build on that heritage with fresh investment. Crucially, the deal also enables the transfer of all staff and the ability to secure precious manufacturing and engineering capability in the UK.”

This year, Britten-Norman is marking the 70th anniversary of its establishment at Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight, however until a restart in 2023, it had not been manufacturing aircraft in the UK since 1968.

In June 2023, the company established plans to repatriate production of its nine-seat Islander aircraft from Romania back to the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. The new Bembridge production facility was inaugurated in September 2023, with the first new UK-manufactured Islander slated for completion by May 2024.

A new future is also opening up for the Islander, with growing interest in a hydrogen-electric powered version. However, immediately after the Bembridge production line, it emerged that a planned merger with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS)—which was first announced in April 2023 and was supposed to have been complete months later—had been “paused,” with the two companies instead exploring a strategic partnership to develop the hydrogen-electric BN-2 Islander powered variant.