I spent yesterday in Devon. Not exactly where I'd planned to be on a rainy Tuesday, but there I was, white-knuckled and grinning like an idiot while bouncing across a muddy field in a 7.6-ton military beast they call "The Jackal." My editor bet me £50 I wouldn't have the guts to drive it. His mistake.
The Jackal is a proper monster - can carry over 2 tons of gear (missile launchers, medical kits, those drone-killer things everyone's talking about now). And lemme tell you, climbing behind the wheel of this thing makes you feel absolutely invincible.
When saving soldiers' lives isn't "ethical" enough
Here's the ridiculous part. Supacat, the British company that builds these life-saving vehicles, is struggling to get financing. Why? Because some City investors have decided defense companies aren't "ethical" enough for their precious B Corp standards.
Seriously.
Nick Ames, Supacat's CEO, looked properly fed up when we chatted in their workshop. "We've not exactly been top of the popularity tree for over a decade," he told me, gesturing around at the vehicles being assembled. The company makes about £40 million annually, mostly from exports, and just landed a new British Army contract.
But listing in London to raise proper money? Forget it.
"The City has for years said, 'We don't do that sort of thing,'" Ames explained, looking tired. "You'd like to see more activity and liquidity on the AIM. Being more liquid as a business would change everything for us."
What the hell happened to supporting British industry?
Walking through teh factory floor, watching skilled welders and engineers build vehicles that literally save soldiers' lives, I couldn't help feeling angry. This company employs 250 people in Devon. They're not making weapons of mass destruction - they're building vehicles that protect our troops.
Fun fact: Jeremy Clarkson uses one of Supacat's ex-Army six-wheelers to lumber around his Diddly Squat farm. (Wonder if he had as much trouble getting it insured as I did getting permission to drive one for this article...)
The maddening waiting game
Phil Applegarth, who heads up Supacat, didn't mince words when I asked him about the current situation. "For the first time in our lives, defence spending, which has always been cut, is rising," he said.
But there's a catch. Always a bloody catch.
"To get in on this ride up we need skilled people, enthusiastic people who aren't frightened to join defence firms rather than be shoe-horned into B Corp," he explained while showing me around. "There's a real sense of pride in what we do. We're making something vital. It's keeping our forces safe."
The Government keeps making big promises. Reeves and Healey have both pledged to direct more MoD budget to smaller British firms like Supacat. But the company is stuck in limbo waiting for the Strategic Defence Review.
Speeches vs. actual support
"You're hearing a lot of top-level speeches saying 'Prepare, prepare' but the best we could have is longer-term contracts," Applegarth told me as we watched workers assemble a vehicle destined for export. "The longer it is, the more we can invest in resources and skills."
He looked frustrated. I don't blame him.
"The current spiky ordering doesn't help as we have to keep getting fresh prices from the supply chain—switching the supply chain on and off rather than keeping it warm and running."
I left Devon wondering how we got here. In 2023, with global politics going to hell in a handbasket and military spending finally increasing to 2.5% of GDP, we're still making it nearly impossible for British defense companies to thrive.
All because some investors think protecting soldiers isn't "ethical" enough. God.
MILIBAND'S WIND DREAMS BLOW AWAY
Speaking of government plans colliding with reality... Ed Miliband's grand green energy vision took another hit yesterday when Danish firm Orsted axed their massive Hornsea offshore wind project.
The project would've seen 180 wind turbines off Yorkshire powering millions of homes. Now? Nothing.
Orsted's chief exec Rasmus Errboe blamed "increased supply chain costs, higher interest rates and increased execution risk" for making the project unviable.
Andy Mayer from the Institute of Economic Affairs didn't hold back: "It's a reminder of the folly of legally binding climate targets. The Government's plan to decarbonise the power grid by 2030 denies real trade-offs between lower emissions, energy security and affordability."
Poor Ed. His dream of quadrupling offshore wind farms by 2030 is looking about as realistic as me buying a Jackal for my daily commute.
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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/money/end-of-an-era-elys-125yearold-burrows-newsagent-shuts-up-shop-as-jeff-finally-takes-that-holiday
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