Updated:
Meggitt
Meggitt was founded in 1947 and built its identity as a precision engineering group serving the aerospace, defence, and energy sectors.
Meggitt
Meggitt was founded in 1947 and built its identity as a precision engineering group serving the aerospace, defence, and energy sectors. The Coventry-headquartered firm spent decades growing through acquisition, assembling a portfolio of component technologies — fire suppression systems, brake linings, thermal management, and fuel tank inerting — that became embedded across virtually every major Western commercial and military aircraft platform. The company's strategy centred on proprietary, high-barrier sub-systems for original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket services. Key aerospace programs included the Boeing 787, Airbus A350, and the F-35 Lightning II, with Meggitt supplying mission-critical components such as engine sensors, ice protection, and ammunition handling. The defence business extended into thermal imaging and combat training systems. In 2021, Meggitt reported revenue of £1.49 billion, with roughly half derived from civil aerospace and half from defence and energy (per the firm's 2021 annual report). By mid-2022, the firm employed more than 9,000 people across facilities in the UK, United States, and Singapore. That September, US industrial conglomerate Parker-Hannifin completed its cash acquisition of Meggitt, taking the company private and delisting it from the London Stock Exchange (per Reuters, September 2022). Parker committed to maintaining Meggitt's UK manufacturing footprint and R&D spending as conditions of the UK government's national security clearance. Meggitt's structural signature was its role as a tier-two integrator: not the platform manufacturer, but the supplier of the unforgiving components where certification costs and long-cycle engineering relationships created a deep competitive trench. That architecture made it valuable enough to attract a transatlantic takeover bid and functionally identical to how Parker itself was built — through the patient accumulation of engineered-moat industrial assets.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1947
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Coventry
Corporate office
Coventry, United Kingdom
Principals
Tony Wood
Chief Executive
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who led Meggitt through its final years as a public company?
Tony Wood served as Chief Executive from 2018 through the Parker-Hannifin acquisition. He joined Meggitt from Rolls-Royce, where he had been President of the Aerospace division, and focused on restructuring the company's cost base after the civil aviation downturn during COVID-19.
What happened to Meggitt after the Parker-Hannifin acquisition?
Parker-Hannifin completed the acquisition in September 2022 for approximately £6.3 billion. Meggitt was delisted from the London Stock Exchange and now operates as a wholly owned division within Parker's Aerospace Systems segment. As part of regulatory approval, Parker made legally binding commitments to maintain Meggitt's UK manufacturing sites and R&D expenditure.
What were Meggitt's core aerospace platforms before the acquisition?
Meggitt supplied components for every major Western airframe — including the Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A320neo and A350 — as well as the F-35 Lightning II and Eurofighter Typhoon on the defence side. Its equipment included brake control systems, fire protection, fuel tank inerting, and engine health monitoring sensors.
Why did the UK government intervene in the Meggitt acquisition?
The UK government reviewed the deal under the Enterprise Act 2002 on national security grounds, given Meggitt's role in sensitive defence programs. Parker secured clearance by agreeing to maintain UK-based R&D, protect jobs in critical supply chains, and guarantee continuity of supply for the Ministry of Defence.
What differentiates Meggitt's business model from other aerospace suppliers?
Meggitt operated as a tier-two specialist rather than a systems integrator, meaning it produced the high-certification, long-lifecycle sub-components — things like fuel bladder tanks and engine seals — that are difficult to replace once designed into an aircraft. That installed-base stickiness generated predictable aftermarket revenue for decades after initial delivery.
Who is Parker-Hannifin, and why did they buy Meggitt?
Parker-Hannifin is a Fortune 250 industrial conglomerate specializing in motion and control technologies. The Meggitt acquisition expanded Parker's aerospace exposure significantly, particularly in engine and airframe components where Meggitt held embedded positions on next-generation commercial and military platforms that Parker did not previously serve.
What was Meggitt's revenue at the time of the acquisition?
Meggitt reported revenue of £1.49 billion for the full year 2021 (per the firm's 2021 annual report), recovering from pandemic-driven declines in its civil aerospace division while its defence segment remained relatively stable throughout.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: