Vertical Aerospace now has a hangar to build its Valo Air Taxi.

Vertical Aerospace opened a new assembly center for its Valo air taxi this week.

So basically: The British eVTOL company now has a building to put together the aircraft it needs for certification, at Cotswold Airport in England. The same week, it hired Jefferies to look at “strategic alternatives,” which can mean new investors, a partner, or a bigger deal. Vertical says certification work keeps going either way.

The building

Vertical announced the Aircraft Assembly Centre on Sept. 25. Aerospace Global News, which was there, says it opened Sept. 24.

• It adds 60,000 square feet at Cotswold Airport, for about 130,000 square feet total there.
• It cost about £1.5 million. It’s a converted World War II era hangar that used to house the RAF Red Arrows, per AGN.
• It sits next to Vertical’s flight test center, so aircraft go from assembly straight into testing.

What gets built there

First, certification aircraft. Assembly of the first certification-conforming Valo starts in Q4 2027. AGN reports first flight is planned for 2028, with five aircraft flying in the program and two used for ground structural tests. Vertical is targeting UK Civil Aviation Authority type certification in 2029.

The center will also convert one prototype for hybrid-electric flight testing in the first half of 2027.

After certification, it’s sized for more than 25 Valo a year. CEO Stuart Simpson told AGN a third shift could push that to about 37. Vertical expects to announce plans for a separate full-scale factory in Q4 2026. Simpson told AGN the plan is a factory for up to 1,000 aircraft a year plus a battery gigafactory, in two locations.

Valo is a piloted, four-passenger eVTOL. It uses Sonaca airframe structures, Evolito electric propulsion units, Honeywell flight controls, and Vertical’s own batteries.

The Jefferies part

On Sept. 24, Vertical said it started a review of strategic alternatives “including potential strategic and financial partnerships” and hired Jefferies as its advisor. Simpson said “now is the right time to explore our options for financing the next phase of our growth.”

There’s no timeline, and Vertical says the review may not lead to any deal. It says it’s still on track to finish Critical Design Review by the end of 2026. This follows about $100 million in new financing and the hiring of former Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Fabrice Brégier as chair.

Where Vertical stands

Vertical says it’s the second company to fly a piloted transition in a full-scale tiltrotor eVTOL, and it flew transition demos five days straight at Farnborough in July. It claims about 1,500 pre-orders, from customers including American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL, and Japan Airlines.

My take

The building is the cheap part. Getting Valo certified by 2029 and standing up a real factory takes a lot more money, and hiring Jefferies shows Vertical knows it. The Q4 factory news and the result of this review will decide whether Valo reaches customers.