Rolls-Royce taps investors and lenders for billions to keep it rolling – don’t expect a quick payoff

Photograph: The loss of the contract will result in a £2.6 billion reduction in its order book

I

t’s sobering to realise that in the summer of 2018 Rolls-Royce shares closed at just under £11. 

Since they’ve done a decent impersonation of a flaky dot-com whose tech is running out of road.

A £5bn recapitalisation, to which shareholders are going to contribute £2bn through the issue of new paper on the basis of 10 new shares for every three held, could leave them trading at less than 60p when the dust has settled and all that new equity has reached the market.