A company that claimed to be pioneering new, affordable small aircraft stopped paying a top employee’s wages and then sacked him in a WhatsApp message without any notice. We can reveal that Aerodyne Aerospace has been ordered by a judge to pay its former chief operating officer more than £22,000 — the latest in a series of rulings against the owner’s companies.
The Wales-based company manufactured a range of small aircraft that use helicopter-like rotors and engine-powered propellers, known as gyroplanes. They were marketed as being a way of making flying vehicles accessible to everyone with potential use as personal vehicles, taxis, 999 services, surveillance and more.
In the last 16 months, three former employees have won payouts totalling £77,963 from firms in the Aerodyne group — each run by the same man, Rangaraja “Raja” Iyengar. Most recently the ex-chief operating officer, Ian Thomas, took Aerodyne Aerospace Holdings to an employment tribunal for unauthorised wage deductions and breach of contract.
Aerodyne Aircraft Development, which was based at St Athan Airport in the Vale of Glamorgan, went into liquidation in August this year after one of its creditors — the taxman, HMRC — took it to court to be wound up. Earlier that month Aerodyne had filed two-year-old accounts stating it had debts of £1,476,800 and assets of only £1,000. These were “amended accounts” to correct the papers it had originally filed in 2022, which had described the company as “dormant”.
Another of Mr Iyengar’s companies owed £2,996,074 at that time — also revealed by newly-filed “amended accounts” for 2022. More recent accounts have not been filed but when we asked Mr Iyengar how much his companies now owe, he replied: “As for debt, we have invested more than £60million to develop aircraft. So we would be close to that amount.”
Last year the Aerodyne group, which manufactured small aircraft, struck a deal to move into the Welsh Government’s Bro Tathan aerospace business park in St Athan. Soon afterwards Aerodyne was showcased by the Government in a brochure of Welsh businesses for an export market in India.
The brochure stated that Aerodyne had sold more than 1,700 aircraft into 22 countries “over the last 15 years”. The same statement is made on the business’ website. However, its LinkedIn page and Companies House records say it was founded in 2019. And in an interview from 2023 Mr Iyengar said the firm was “established five years ago”. We have twice asked Mr Iyengar to explain the discrepancy. He has not answered that question.
In August 2023, Aerodyne said it would be starting building work the following week on its “future production facility” in a 28,000 sq ft unit at the aerospace park. Its announcement on LinkedIn read: “As a business based in Wales, we will be able to support the local area by employing 80 staff to start and build to 250 by April 2024.” But the Welsh Government says Aerodyne never moved into the business park and despite its presence on the brochure it did not end up taking part in the export market visit to India.
In the latest tribunal, Employment Judge Claire Sharp accepted Mr Thomas’ allegation that he was owed two months’ wages as well as payment for his one-month notice period. He had also claimed he did not receive payslips from the firm but the judge said there was “not much the tribunal could do on this issue”. She added that his allegations of tax irregularities by Aerodyne — an alleged “failure of statutory deductions to be paid on to HMRC as is required for every employee” — would be better resolved with HMRC than at the employment tribunal.
Judge Sharp said the firm did not respond to the court claim despite emails from Mr Iyengar showing he was aware of the case. The judge found that Mr Iyengar had dismissed Mr Thomas without notice on April 20 this year, messaging him on WhatsApp: “No, as of Friday morning it was decided not to continue with your contract.” Aerodyne was ordered to pay him the £15,166 in wages and £7,583 in notice pay.
Mr Iyengar, a 52-year-old pilot and businessman from Surrey, has been a director of 15 companies. These include a bottled water wholesaler called Namaste Water and Distribution Ltd and an electricity production business known as Adithya Power and Distribution Ltd, both of which have been dissolved. He is the sole director of three similarly named firms — Aerodyne Aviation Holdings Ltd, Aerodyne Aerospace Holdings Ltd and Aerodyne Aircraft Development Ltd.
Last year, former chief executive officer Valerie Ellis won an employment tribunal claim that Aerodyne Aircraft Development had made unauthorised deductions of £13,961 to her wages, had dismissed her without giving proper notice and had failed to pay her holiday entitlement. The firm was ordered to pay her £19,271.
Another former employee, referred to in court papers as Mr Martin, won a tribunal payout of £35,943 from Aerodyne Aircraft Development. The firm had made £20,712 worth of unauthorised deductions from his wages, dismissed him without proper notice and failed to pay holiday entitlement.
Although Aerodyne Aircraft Development has gone into liquidation, its sister companies remain active on the Companies House register. However, Aerodyne Aviation has not filed accounts since it was set up in March last year. Meanwhile, Aerodyne Aerospace has described itself as a “dormant company” in every set of accounts since it was formed in 2019. Its latest accounts have been overdue for six months.
Aeolus Systems and Holdings Ltd, another of Mr Iyengar’s aircraft firms, also remains active on Companies House. Like its sister company, the business filed “amended” two-year-old accounts in August. The papers for 2022 stated that Aeolus had debts of £2,996,074 and assets of just £19. Originally, the accounts from that year had described the company as “dormant”. It means that in total Mr Iyengar’s firms owed £4,472,874 with just £1,019 in assets at that time.
On its website Aerodyne says its aim is to produce low-cost, eco-friendly “flying vehicles” including gyroplanes, which it says are “more flexible than aeroplanes, less expensive than helicopters”. The website adds that it has sold aircraft to clients “throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia” over the last 15 years. It is listed as a supporter of the Wales Airshow 2025 in a profile that bills Aerodyne as “a proud Anglo-Welsh-Indian company with aircrafts spanning across the military, medical, and transportation sectors”.
According to the most recent accounts, the average number of employees across both Aerodyne Aircraft Development and Aeolus during the year of 2021 was one. That figure included the director.
A Youtube channel called Business Spotlight UK interviewed Mr Iyengar in March 2023, introducing him as a “very inspirational entrepreneur”. He was asked in the video if anything kept him awake and, with a laugh, he replied: “Funding. The lack of. We have bootstrapped ourselves for a long time. And we’ve got viable products, we’ve done lots of testing, we’ve done a lot of work… No one will fund production costs. The fact we’re sitting here with a company established five years ago… We’ve got a viable product. Trying to get funding is impossible.”
Mr Iyengar responded to some of our questions with a series of emails. He blamed the Welsh Government for the Bro Tathan factory never opening. “We were promised a factory which would be viable and be able to start building by January 2024,” he claimed. “When we signed the contracts in April 2023 we were not made aware of all the issues. First the airport had done an asbestos report in February. We were never give a copy of this report until our contractor started working in October 2023.
“Then we are still without electricity, and after having spent a considerable amount of money to start the fit-out, we have had to set aside the whole unit. It is impossible to run without mains electricity. If my daily electricity was £400 during fit-out, the cost of diesel generators would have been exponential post completion. Even if Wales Government [sic] cleaned the entire factory of the asbestos. Apologies but I am not in the business of putting staff and employees at asbestos risk, even if Welsh Government felt there was no issues. Am sure they have removed us, simply because we asked for basics like a clean factory and mains electricity.”
He added: “As I said very difficult if there is no revenue to continue. So we have had to take on funds as debt to be able to establish a new factory and develop new aircraft.” Pressed on the level of debt, he told us: “As for debt, we have invested more than £60m to develop aircraft. So we would be close to that amount.”
We then asked Mr Iyengar how much of the £60m would be repaid, how many creditors are owed money by his companies, and how much is owed specifically to HMRC. The businessman responded with a claim that his own companies are owed a £72,800 refund by HMRC after alleged errors in VAT paperwork by “a previous accountant”.
Mr Iyengar claimed HMRC’s VAT requests were “based on their assumption on how much we would owe” but did not take the factory issues into account. He alleged: “We had several letters and emails advising that because the factory was never started, and that they had visited the factory and knew the problems, we requested that they hold back on the liquidation. They did not, or one department pushed for the liquidation whilst the investigation and auditors had allowed us time to file the returns.
“We filed two days before the [liquidation] hearing, assuming the hearing would have been pushed back — it was not, and so they went for liquidation. To get the company back, and the refund has been the struggle for the last five months… We have asked for the entire case to be reviewed and waiting for the appeal to be heard.
“As for creditors, we have already assigned to them all the IP [intellectual property] and details of the aircraft. In the same instance we are also developing new aircraft. But with all the issues of the factory and the new Government making it more difficult to employ and recruit, the advantages we had in Wales no longer exist. One of our investors who has provided a large loan of £12million has asked us to review eastern Europe and Turkey. No decision has been made on this move, but Labour Government in Westminster has not made my job easier.”
Mr Iyengar also blamed Aerodyne’s “loss of revenue” on the performance of some former employees. He said he has been preparing a court claim “to reclaim the monies paid” following the latest employment tribunal.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Aerodyne entered into a lease for premises at Bro Tathan business park in August 2023. The company carried out a number of alterations to the building however have never taken occupation. Welsh Government understands that an official receiver has been appointed.”
If you would like to talk to us for a follow-up article on Aerodyne, contact our investigations editor at conor.gogarty@walesonline.co.uk