Another blow for jetpack maker Martin Aircraft as shares suspended

The private equity exchange Unlisted (USX) has placed a trading halt on Martin Aircraft until the troubled jetpack maker files its 2018 Annual Report.

The halt was applied on March 19 and was largely academic given there had been no trades in the stock since September 20 last year.

The trading halt imposed by USX was noted by the Financial Markets Authority in correspondence with activist investor Ralf Rodl.

USX director David Wallace confirmed to the Herald, "Martin Aircraft is suspended as it has not published its last annual report in accordance with USX's Market Rules. We understand from the company this is still with the auditors and look forward to it being signed off and published so trading can recommence."

Sydney helicopter paramedic Rodl invested his retirement savings of around $1.2m in the Christchurch-based jetpack maker, only to see his money all but disappear as its share price dived amid an engine strip-down issue, a public spat with estranged founder Glenn Martin, sales failing to materialise and an attendant cash crunch.

Rodl has attempted over the past month to get the FMA to investigate Martin Aircraft's failure to file, but the regulator has told him that USX is an exempt market that does not fall under Part 7 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, which sets the regulator's remit.

The angry Australian's attempts to hold Martin Aircraft to account have become increasingly frustrated. Recently, he has not even been able to work out who is in charge.

The "Management & Key Personnel" section of the jetpack maker's website lists a single name: chief test pilot Prospero Uybarreta.

On September 27 last year, the Herald reported that Martin Aircraft's chief executive Ben Taylor had left after a disagreement with the board.

Leaving, on a jetpack: Martin Aircraft's prototype. Photo / Supplied.

Nearly all of the remaining 100 or so staff had been laid off, a recently walked Martin Aircraft employee told the Herald. Melbourne-based director Ran Elias did not respond to repeated requests for comment (and did not immediately respond to a request today to talk about the trading halt).

A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Authority said Martin Aircraft had voluntarily surrendered its aircraft certification, meaning it can no longer conduct test flights.

Martin Aircraft originally listed on the ASX in 2015. The Australian exchange suspended its shares after it failed to file its 2017 accounts on time. Shortly after, Martin delisted from the ASX and shifted to USX.

Earlier, entrepreneur Lance Wiggs said that even if Martin Aircraft's jetpack had gained commercial certification on its original timeline (its prospectus predicted sales in 2016), it was tricky to see its market.

There would only be so many wealthy individuals willing to buy it for recreation, and it faced challenges in search and rescue, where it could not operate in high winds, and for military applications (once hyped by the company) where un-manned drones had become the pervasive technology.