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Corporate Finance Practice (CFP)

The CFP provides corporate finance advice to BIS and other Government departments. CFP now has a broad range of expertise covering corporate finance, corporate recovery and capital markets.Activities generally fall into three main categories: Launch Investment, Grant for Business Investment, and wider corporate finance advice (including advice on corporate intervention by Government).

Corporate finance/Intervention advice

Over the last year the Shareholder Executive was engaged to evaluate and advise BIS on the financial aspects of significant targeted potential Government interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of the current downturn in key sectors of the UK economy. These initiatives have covered businesses in the automotive industry, such as Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors and LDV.

The Shareholder Executive also continued to participate in Government’s wider corporate finance activities, where other Departments have approached the Shareholder Executive for advice.These have included DIUS (now part of BIS), HM Treasury and MOD.

In 2008, the Shareholder Executive advised a cross-departmental group, led by the Office of Government Commerce, on the co-ordination of a strategic response to address issues of financial distress in the current economic climate.The strategy focused on ensuring that the provision of critical services to various areas of Government was not disrupted and involved working closely with Government customers and suppliers.

Launch Investment

Launch Investment is repayable support given by the Government to the aerospace industry for the development of aerospace products. In 2008, the Shareholder Executive advised BIS with regard to a £60m launch investment for GKN Aerospace to design and develop the composite material rear spar and the fixed trailing edge on the Airbus A350XWB aircraft and more generally advised on GKN’s acquisition from Airbus of certain wing manufacturing operations.

The Shareholder Executive was also instrumental in the negotiation of the £50m that was made available to Airbus for high quality research and technology projects to be developed by the company over the next five years.This research, through the Technology Strategy Board’s R&D programme, will further strengthen the UK’s position as a world leader in wing design and manufacture.

More generally during the course of the year, the Shareholder Executive has advised BIS on medium to longer term strategic considerations for the overall launch investment programme.

Grant for business investment

This is a discretionary scheme that provides capital grants to businesses to support sustainable investment in England.The Shareholder Executive appraised a number of regional assistance cases over the year leading to £8.7m of grants being offered.The supported projects are linked to £47.3m of private sector capital investment and they will create, or safeguard, 785 good quality jobs in UK regions which have been designated as Assisted Areas.