£83.7 million collaborative financing package for a new space engineering, manufacturing and operations hub at Prestwick, Scotland

We advised Scottish Enterprise (SE) and South Ayrshire Council (SAC) on the provision of an innovative funding and assistance package, also supported by the Scottish and UK Governments, for US-based Mangata Networks, which will help create a state-of-the-art satellite manufacturing and operations hub at the Prestwick International Aerospace Park.

Co-ordinated by our banking & finance team and working with Scottish Enterprise as lead investor, long-term funding for the project was drawn from several public sector sources, including the Ayrshire Growth Deal, along with an equity investment by SE in Mangata.

Our role was to draft and negotiate all principal financing documents, so that the diverse sources of finance were made available in a coherent package, and to assist with legal due diligence of the Mangata US parent. Our equity, commercial, real estate and construction colleagues supported development of the investment package, and our public sector experts advised on compliance with procurement rules and subsidy control matters.

Key highlights

• Bringing Mangata to locate its European hub in Scotland, achieved against fierce international competition.
• Project managing a complex series of interlocking transactions and documents with innovative drafting and a partnership approach across the Scottish public sector funders with Mangata.
• Complementing the related development of Prestwick Spaceport, which is gearing up to facilitate horizontal air-launches of satellites from 2024.

Outcome

• Delivering what is understood to be the largest FDI (foreign direct investment) deal into Scotland to date.
• Generating potential for 575 new high value jobs and careers for skilled technical engineering positions focused on product development, and related support roles, in the space sector in the Ayrshire region.
• Aiming at deploying nearly 800 broadband satellites from late 2025.
• A successful investment through the Ayrshire Growth Deal as a part of its focus on the UK Space sector.