Mettis Aerospace

Who owns Mettis Aerospace?

Mettis Aerospace is a British Aerospace & Defence company, now owned by Guggenheim Investments and Bridgepoint Group funds, which acquired it in 2025 from Stirling Square Capital Partners.

About Mettis Aerospace

Mettis Aerospace is a Redditch-based manufacturer of precision forged and machined components for the aerospace, defence and specialist industrial markets, working in aluminium, titanium, steel and nickel-based alloys. The business operates a fully integrated platform that spans design and development, forging on presses ranging from 500 to 12,000 tonnes, machining, finishing, assembly and testing, all from a single purpose-built facility of roughly 1.2 million square feet. Its components go into aerostructures, engines and landing systems, and it supplies major original equipment manufacturers including Airbus, Boeing, GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce. Beyond civil and military aerospace, Mettis serves specialist applications such as industrial gas turbines, nuclear, rail and marine. The company employs around 500 people and holds AS9100, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 17025 and Nadcap accreditations.

Ownership journey

Mettis Aerospace traces its origins to 1938 in Redditch, where it built more than eight decades of specialism in precision forging for demanding aerospace and defence applications. In February 2016 the company was acquired by Stirling Square Capital Partners, the pan-European mid-market buyout firm, investing through its third fund, from its previous private equity owner. Stirling Square held Mettis for close to a decade as a control investment, backing a management team led by chief executive Gordon Fraser. The firm exited the business in 2025 via a trade sale, concluding its ownership period.

Under PE ownership

Under Stirling Square's ownership Mettis pursued a modernisation agenda anchored on a GBP 30 million investment programme in state-of-the-art forging and machining equipment and testing laboratories, aimed at raising capacity, precision and productivity. Over the hold the company grew top-line revenue by nearly 40 percent and improved profitability by more than 60 percent, according to the sponsor's disclosures. The investment in advanced equipment and quality infrastructure reinforced Mettis's position as an integrated single-site supplier to blue-chip aerospace and defence customers. In December 2018 its management team was recognised by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association as Mid-market Management Team of the Year, reflecting the operational progress achieved during the period.