Seraphim Space poaches Virgin Galactic veteran amid slow run for British launcher
Seraphim Space has poached a Virgin veteran, who helped finance the group’s space ventures, Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, to catch the stream of cash being poured into the industry.
Patrick McCall, former senior partner at Virgin Group, is set to join the London-listed space tech fund as a venture partner, as the fund’s value swells north of £185m, not even a year after its float.
McCall previously led both Virgin Galactic and its spin-off satellite firm Virgin Orbit into public markets, both via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) 2021.
Seraphim shares jumped 1.5 per cent to 99.9p per share by mid-afternoon.
The space tech fund appointed a former UBS director as its new chief operating officer in March, in another signal of strength from the firm.
Sarah Shackleton also held accounting and financial systems analyst roles at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and HSBC’s investment bank.
It comes amid a quiet few months from the Virgin Group’s space ventures, following Galactic’s gilded launch last year, as competitor SpaceX steams ahead with new NASA and Axiom Space partnerships.
Smaller space tech companies are also beginning to get a look in, with the market more accessible than ever before.
Launching activity is expected to pick up at the group, with Virgin Galactic looking to start its commercial service later this year.
However, Virgin Galactic is anticipated to have shouldered the costs of growing its fleet in preparation, in its first quarter results published this week, according to analysts at Zacks Equity Research.
Earnings could be dampened by the added expenditure, alongside higher employee costs and the opening of ticket sales which are also expected to have “hurt” Galactic’s bottom line. Although investors remain starry eyed by the appeal of smaller players in the game.