6 -Oxohexa-2,3-dienoates can be readily prepared via an atom economical Claisen rearrangement of propargyl vinyl ethers formed in situ by the reaction of propargylic alcohols with acetals. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated that these functionalised allenic esters undergo a facile amine-induced carbocyclisation under mild reaction conditions, yielding densely functionalised cyclopentanones containing chiral quaternary carbon centres.