£1bn engineering boost

BRITISH engineering has been given a £1bn boost after a duo of blue-chip firms secured major deals.

Rolls-Royce has revealed it won a £1.1bn order for its Trent 700 engines from China Eastern Airlines to power 15 new airbus jets.

And defence company BAE Systems has secured a £115.7m contract to maintain training aircraft for the Australian military.

It will be a welcome deal for Rolls-Royce, which in June posted a 80pc fall in half-year profits to £104m.

Shares in Rolls-Royce closed down by 0.7pc, or 5.5p, at 788.5p per share, while BAE Systems closed down by 0.3pc, or 1.5p, at 530.5p per share.