Rolls-Royce debt crisis rings alarm bells in Whitehall

MINISTERS are ‘concerned’ about Rolls-Royce’s precarious financial position, City sources claim.

Investment bankers said they have heard rumours the Government is ‘starting to get worried’ about the jet engine maker. The company – in which the Government has a ‘golden share’ that gives it the right to block a takeover – has been hit hard by the shutdown of the commercial aviation market.

The illustrious firm’s power-bythe- hour model, where it sells engines at a loss but is paid on how much they fly, has left it bleeding cash. Rolls-Royce is particularly exposed to the collapse in long-haul travel because it makes engines for bigger planes, such as Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’s A350.

As a result, Rolls-Royce shares have collapsed by more than 60 per cent since the start of the year and currently flirt with a 12-year low. The company’s debt has also been downgraded to junk status and major long- term shareholders, such as American activist investor Value Act, have been selling their shares in the FTSE 100-listed firm.

Several weeks ago Rolls-Royce admitted it may need to tap shareholders for extra cash, with reports suggesting it is looking for £1.5 billion from an equity capital raising.

Rolls- Royce is also looking to raise £1 billion by reviving the sale of ITP Aero, its Spanish engineering division that makes turbine blades for engines. However, David Perry, an analyst at JP Morgan, has warned that £1.5 billion from an equity capital raising may not be enough to save Rolls-Royce.

In a note to clients he wrote: ‘An £8 billion hole will need much more than a £1.5 billion rights issue ... we believe Rolls-Royce needs to raise at least £6 billion (through equity sales and disposals) to put itself on a sound footing.’

Perry added that the company’s debt pile will be almost £19 billion by the end of 2020. The Government’s golden s hare i n RollsRoyce is linked to the company’s role in building atomic reactors that power Britain’s nuclear warhead submarines. That all ows Ministers to veto any takeover of the business.

In a previous note Perry suggested Rolls-Royce needs to issue £6 billion of equity and that this might not be possible from institutional investors – and ‘ we think there is high chance of Government intervention’.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy declined to comment.