Chad Griffin, Geoff Rowley and Graham Smith of FRP Advisory have been appointed joint administrators of Orbital Express Launch Ltd, the Forres-headquartered space launch technology company.
Orbex, which had operations in Forres, Scotland, and Denmark, entered administration following unsuccessful attempts to secure new investment or a strategic acquirer.
The joint administrators will now explore all options for the business, including a potential sale of its assets or technology. FRP says it is already in active discussions with more than 20 interested parties, which include other rocket developers.
Founded in 2015, Orbex was developing Prime – a low-carbon micro-launch vehicle designed to place small satellites into low Earth orbit. The company had secured £138.5 million in funding to date, comprising £33.3m in grants and £105.1m in equity. Public investment totalled £76.7m, including £26m from the UK government in 2025 and £29m from the Scottish National Investment Bank. The company had also received investment from a range of UK and European venture capital funds and strategic corporate investors.
The administration follows the unsuccessful conclusion of a Series D funding round and parallel merger and acquisition discussions. Orbex was exposed to the capital-intensive nature of launch vehicle development and long lead times to revenue so these outcomes left the business without the capital required to continue its development programme.
Chad Griffin, joint administrator and partner at FRP, said:“Orbex was at the forefront of the UK’s ambitions to create a sovereign space launch capability, and has made significant technological progress in recent years.
“Our focus now is on supporting employees, and engaging with potential interested parties to preserve value in the business assets and seek to retain space launch operations in Forres given the investments already made.
CAPA have been appointed to carry out a rates audit over the companies portfolio.
