Built as a successor to the company's first design the Simmonds Spartan, the Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce and plywood fuselage.

One aircraft, G-ABBE, was fitted with floats and evaluated as a seaplane in 1931, it was converted back to a landplane and later sold in New Zealand, where it was renumbered as ZK-ACQ.

One aircraft G-ABST was built to test a new air-cooled Napier engine (later knowns as the Javelin).

Two prototypes and 13 production aircraft were built at Weston, Southampton, and after 20 February 1931 at East Cowes, Isle of Wight.

G-ABWP a Cirrus Hermes II powered Arrow (constructor's number 78) survives in flying condition based at Redhill Aerodrome in England.