British investors set to take stake in rapidly expanding drones industry as US group Strat Aero floats on AIM

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British investors will be able to take a stake in the rapidly expanding drones industry this week after US group Strat Aero floats on AIM.

Strat specialises in offering training and consultancy in the use and operation of unmanned aerial systems, as drones are known in the aerospace industry.

The firm was set up in 2013 and turnover in the past 12 months was just $433,000, but with the industry set to boom for governments and the private sector, the firm will be valued at just over £6 million on tomorrow’s float.

Overhead Strat, which operates a training facility in Roswell, New Mexico, already has contracts with one of America’s top defence firms 

Already widely used in military and government circles, private companies are increasingly looking at the potential for drones, most famously Amazon, which last week announced it was recruiting experts for a drone-delivery testing site in Cambridge.

Strat, which operates a training facility in Roswell, New Mexico, already has contracts with one of America’s top defence firms.

The float will raise £650,000 and follows £500,000 drummed up from private investors earlier this year.