Hold your nose: a £1.25bn subsidy for rich Rolls-Royce’s new engine had to happen
News Source
•Thu, 29 Oct 2026 18:07:27 GMT
📰 What Happened
The UK budget gave Rolls-Royce £1.25 billion to help develop a new jet engine for single-aisle planes. The chancellor mentioned it in just two sentences in the middle of his speech.
Rolls-Royce is not struggling. It is the fifth biggest company on the FTSE 100, worth £105 billion, and can spend up to £9 billion buying back its own shares this year.
The money helps fund a 10-year, £2.5 billion research programme, including a test engine. About 3,300 jobs are supported at first.
🔍 The Backstory
Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç said earlier this year he would welcome government support for the UltraFan engine. The argument is that other countries would pay if Britain did not.
Rolls-Royce left the narrow-body market decades ago and now only supplies engines for larger long-haul planes. It needs a place on an Airbus or Boeing programme, and that will not be known until around 2030.
🎯 Why It Matters
The deal is public money going to a profitable firm. Supporters say it protects skilled jobs and exports, which pay for public services.
The UK budget gave Rolls-Royce £1.25 billion to help develop a new jet engine for single-aisle planes. The chancellor mentioned it in just two sentences in the middle of his speech.
Rolls-Royce is not struggling. It is the fifth biggest company on the FTSE 100, worth £105 billion, and can spend up to £9 billion buying back its own shares this year.
The money helps fund a 10-year, £2.5 billion research programme, including a test engine. About 3,300 jobs are supported at first.
Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç said earlier this year he would welcome government support for the UltraFan engine. The argument is that other countries would pay if Britain did not.
Rolls-Royce left the narrow-body market decades ago and now only supplies engines for larger long-haul planes. It needs a place on an Airbus or Boeing programme, and that will not be known until around 2030.
The deal is public money going to a profitable firm. Supporters say it protects skilled jobs and exports, which pay for public services.