UK advanced air mobility developer ARC Aerosystems is seeking a buyer for its C600 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo drone.
ARC hopes to raise up to £20 million ($25 million) from the sale, allowing the firm to focus its resources on a new generation of gyroplanes under its Pegasus III and Linx programmes.
Promising to carry a payload of up to 100kg (220lb) with a range of up to 215nm (400km), prototypes of the hybrid-electric C600 have been extensively tested since the programme was launched in 2018.
That has included full transitions from vertical to wing-borne flight and back again, and trials in an operating environment in the north of Scotland as part of the UK government-backed Future Flight Challenge (FFC).
ARC says the C600 is at technology readiness level (TRL) 7 with a manufacturing readiness level of 4. It estimates the prospective buyer will need to spend another £6 million to bring both of those to level 9.
It obtained an independent valuation for the programme from investment firm Turquoise International which factored in future cash-flow forecasts and the £10 million already spent on development work.
That includes £1.7 million from several FFC projects plus a £3 million convertible loan from the government-owned British Business Bank.
Forecasts prepared for the sale suggest the C600 programme could be generating revenues up as much as £33 million by the end of the decade based on the size of the available market for drone transport services.
ARC has set up a German-registered business, LandOn Aeronautics based in Ingolstadt, to hold the C600 programme.
The small number of LandOn employees will transfer across to the new buyer, the company says, while ARC’s “senior team” will “support the development with advisory roles to see it through the production”.
In addition, if required by the buyer, the “technology and production” for the C600 could remain in the UK.
Also included in the sale price are several prototypes, control systems and spare parts, alongside intangible assets such as flight-test reports, design manuals, safety cases and research.
ARC sees a need to divest the C600 programme to focus its finances other development efforts.
Should it raise the full £20 million, it will enable the Cranfield-headquartered company to bring its Pegasus III gyroplane to market next year.
But if ARC only succeeds in raising £6 million, “we can continue the UAV programme to production in the UK with a separate management team”.
ARC is also hoping to raise £70 million over the next five years to allow the larger Linx P9 to enter service by 2029.
