01 Welcome
An immersive sound-and-light introduction sets the scene for the city you're about to read from above.
The Arc Concept
Cities, revealed from above.
A glass cabin between two carbon-fibre masts. 69 metres of altitude. Twelve minutes of story. Zero permanent change to the skyline.
Nicholas Stubbs · Founder & Inventor
Founder story
Why Arc exists.
"I wanted to find a way for people to view any beautiful location from above, without constructing something permanent like a tower or wheel that would always impact the skyline."
Nicholas Stubbs founded Arc Global Ltd in 2014. His solution: an elegant capsule suspended between two carbon-fibre masts which glides up and round to give visitors the best view of a city — without spoiling that city.
Twelve years on, the engineering is complete, the Bristol site has unanimous planning consent, and the team has grown to fifty named experts across eight disciplines.
The Voyage
A 12-minute story, told from above.
01 
02 Ascent
Lift off in a glass cabin between two carbon-fibre masts. Smooth, near-silent, solar-powered.
03 Reveal
At 69 metres your navigator opens the panorama, then descends and re-ascends. The city, read like a book.
04 Return
The cabin lowers and the masts settle. When Arc's day ends, the city looks like itself again.
Why Arc
Six reasons cities, investors and visitors take Arc seriously.
01
Patented engineering
UK Patent GB2510913 plus registered designs and trademarks in the UK and EU.
02
Tier-1 advisors
KPMG, Arup and Lloyds Register on engineering, accreditation and strategy.
03
Solar powered
Designed to operate net-zero on a typical day, with aircraft-grade fail-safes.
04
Minimal footprint
Twin masts and a cabin — ground impact roughly the size of two parked cars.
05
Heritage-respectful
Silent, low-impact, removable — historic sites stay historic.
06
Built in Bristol
Headquartered on Harbourside with planning consent already granted.
Protected since 2014
Patents, registered designs and trademarks.
Arc is a serious piece of intellectual property — granted in the UK and EU, with the documentation and the consultants to back it up.
UK Patent
GB2510913
Granted, in force, and registered against Arc Global Ltd (UK Company 08904283).
Registered Design
4042956
Granted, in force, and registered against Arc Global Ltd (UK Company 08904283).
UK Trademark
UK00003191858
Granted, in force, and registered against Arc Global Ltd (UK Company 08904283).
EU Trademark
EU016587289
Granted, in force, and registered against Arc Global Ltd (UK Company 08904283).
Advisors · Partners · Accreditors
"We have some unusual challenges, but the structure, machinery and user experience we are creating all have parallels in other industries — marine yacht masts, wind turbine blades, aircraft fail-safe systems. The engineering is well understood."
Head of Engineering · 20+ years marine industry Simon Walley
Has Arc been built yet?
Not yet. The Bristol site has unanimous planning consent and the engineering is complete. We're preparing for construction. The visitor waitlist and partnership conversations are open.
Is Arc safe?
Arc uses fail-safe systems from the aircraft industry, masts built to marine-yacht standards, and turbine-blade carbon-fibre engineering. Lloyd's Register accredits safety. Simon Walley, Head of Engineering, has 20+ years in the marine industry.
How is Arc powered?
Solar. Arc is designed to operate net-zero on a typical day. A 100-tonne counterweight keeps the structure in balance — so almost no energy is needed to lift it.
What's the impact on the skyline?
Minimal. The footprint is roughly the size of two parked Minis, the masts are slender carbon fibre, and Arc lowers when not in flight. When the day ends, the city looks like itself again.
Who is behind Arc?
Arc Global Ltd (UK Company 08904283) was founded in 2014 by Nicholas Stubbs. The team includes 50+ named engineers, architects, planners and heritage consultants, plus advisors KPMG, Arup, Lloyd's Register and TicketMaster.
Can Arc come to my city?
Probably — yes. Arc is patented as a platform designed to replicate across heritage cities. Get in touch and we'll send you the partnership pack.
Want to bring Arc to your city?
Talk to the partnership team. We'll send you the planning, engineering and economic-impact pack.