Blast off: Charles Russell Speechlys advises on £30m UK spaceport funding

Charles Russell Speechlys has advised SaxaVord Spaceport on a £30 million UK government investment and wider fundraising, supporting the development of the UK’s first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport.

The government funding is expected to be complemented by an additional £30 million of private investment.

Corporate partner Charlie Ring led a multidisciplinary team spanning corporate, tax and incentives, financial services regulation and investment funds.

The Shetland site is the UK's first fully-licensed vertical launch spaceport and has regulatory approval for up to 30 rocket launches a year. Scotland's richest man, Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, is one of its major investors.

Rocket Factory Augsburg, one of SaxaVord’s launch customers, is targeting 2027 for its first orbital launch attempt from the site.

SaxaVord chief executive Scott Hammond described the investment as a vote of confidence in both the business and the wider UK space industry.

The UK government recently described space as “unequivocally a priority”, highlighting its importance to the country’s defence and national security in a “new era of conflict”.

Big Law Space Race

Space and Big Law are increasingly intersecting and firms with dedicated space teams include Milbank, DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, Fieldfisher and Akin.

The sector is also attracting new entrants: Pierson Ferdinand launched a Space and Satellite Law practice earlier this month.

Last year, Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Cleary advised on the planned merger of the space divisions of Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, in a deal set to create a new European heavyweight to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The biggest space mandate this year was SpaceX’s record $75 billion IPO in June. Gibson Dunn advised the company, with Davis Polk acting for the underwriting banks.

Freshfields handled SpaceX’s European offering, while a London-led Latham & Watkins team advised the banks on the UK and European retail offers.

The raise marked marked the first use of the FCA’s new public offer platform regime for a UK retail offer with UK retail investors allocated $364 million of shares in the IPO