RC Fornax PLC (AIM:RCFX) is positioning itself at the centre of a structural shift in how Britain buys defence capability, as the government's Strategic Defence Review reshapes procurement priorities and pushes spending toward 2.5% of GDP by 2027.
The AIM-listed engineering consultancy, founded by RAF veterans Paul Reeves and Daniel Clark, says the SDR's 62 recommendations have accelerated demand for the kind of agile, accredited SME support it provides.
The company is now participating across seven procurement frameworks and has generated more than 20 bid opportunities since April 2025, with three major agreements in advanced discussions, two of them with defence primes covering land and maritime programmes.
Gaining ground
January brought a notable milestone: unconditional acceptance by the Aurora Engineering Partnership as a Specialist Provider on Evolve, its Engineering Delivery Partnership Provider Network.
The company has also moved to diversify beyond core UK defence work, picking up a contract from a public sector space client announced in November 2025.
Central to its growth strategy is SME Procure, a platform using AI-driven tools to generate scopes of work, build teams and connect smaller suppliers with defence buyers.
The company expects to commercialise it during FY26, with management describing it as a mechanism to improve margins and operational leverage at scale.
The delayed Defence Investment Plan remains a drag on the sector's near-term rhythm, prolonging decision-making cycles across several programmes.
RC Fornax argues, however, that budget pressure is working in its favour: when clients focus on extracting value from constrained spending, demand for outcomes-driven engineering support tends to rise.
The numbers
For the 12 months ended August 31, 2025, revenue came in at £4.1 million against £6.4 million the prior year, with an adjusted pre-tax loss of £1.6m, both broadly reflecting the SDR disruption flagged by the company during 2025.
A December fundraise added £2.1 million net, and the company enters the second half of financial year 2026 with £4.5m in firm sales visibility, comprising £1.7m invoiced through January and £2.4m in contracted orders still to run.