Supporting Cambridge Aerospace’s in-house production of key components with ZEISS CT METROTOM 1500
- Healthcare
- Carl Zeiss
Cambridge Aerospace Ltd is a UK-based defence technology company founded in 2024, targeting a customer base expected to include the UK MOD and EU / European Government defence departments, as part of the increased investment in UK, EU and NATO member defence systems.
Through our successful and long-term partnership with Carl Zeiss, their IQS Division introduced us to Cambridge Aerospace, who were seeking to procure a Zeiss CT Metrotom 1500 225kV G3 X-ray based 3D CT system to improve their in-house manufacturing quality control at their UK manufacturing facility.
Enabling Smarter Procurement Through Bespoke Finance
As a pre-revenue startup company in the early stages of what is anticipated to be rapid development, Cambridge Aerospace were keen to manage cashflow. Pre-seed and Series A investment capital represented the business’s primary financial resource; managing cash burn carefully was a key consideration.
A hire purchase agreement offered the ideal structure, spreading the cost of the asset over 24 months, allowing Cambridge Aerospace to preserve working capital, manage cashflow and maintain financial headroom while still accessing industry-leading metrology equipment critical to their production programme.
As part of the agreement, the title of the equipment transfers automatically to Cambridge Aerospace at the end of the term, meaning they will own the asset outright once the hire agreement concludes. This provides the long-term benefit of ownership while avoiding the burden of significant upfront capital outlay at a critical stage of development.
Supporting Innovation at an Early Stage
SAF’s solution gave Cambridge Aerospace access to industry-leading metrology equipment at a pivotal point in their development, enabling them to progress their manufacturing programme on schedule without drawing on their investment capital.
For Carl Zeiss IQS, the transaction secured a key sale with a high-potential customer they anticipate will become a long-term partner as the business grows. It also reflects the continued strength of SAF’s relationship with the Zeiss IQS division, one of SAF’s most active and valued supplier partnerships.
We are delighted to have supported Cambridge Aerospace at such an exciting stage of their development. SAF is funding this transaction directly at a scale that marks a milestone, reflecting the strength of the opportunity and our trust in our long-standing partnership with Carl Zeiss.
This transaction is a strong example of SAF’s willingness to take a considered view of complex opportunities that can enable Carl Zeiss to close sales that might otherwise prove difficult to finance, strengthening our partnership and demonstrating the value SAF brings to the Zeiss sales process.”
Phil Dring, Head of Sales, SAF Solutions
SAF Solutions has become a highly valued partner to Carl Zeiss. The Defence sector is a key growth market in the UK, and one Zeiss is working to support it proactively. They consistently demonstrate a strong understanding of our strategic aims and the importance of delivering commercially practical solutions.
This approach enabled our customer to access critical ZEISS technology while preserving investment capital at an important stage of their growth. Their support was instrumental in securing this opportunity and is another example of the strength of the partnership we’ve built together.
