Rolls-Royce will receive government support for a £2.5bn programme to build engines for narrowbody passenger jets, with the taxpayer understood to be covering £1.25bn of the cost, after Chancellor John Healey announced the deal in yesterday’s Budget.
The 10-year research and technology programme is expected to be funded equally by the government and the Derby-based engineering group, which is valued at £103bn. Rolls-Royce said delivering the initial stages would support 3,300 UK jobs at the company and its supply chain partners by the end of 2029, initially based mainly around its facilities in Derby and Bristol.
The deal backs Rolls-Royce’s bid to return to the market for engines on the single-aisle aircraft used on short-haul routes. The company has been absent from that market since selling its stake in the International Aero Engines consortium to Pratt & Whitney in 2012, Reuters reported.
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