Small businesses in Cornwall are nursing thousands of pounds in losses after the sudden collapse of Virgin Orbit.
Sir Richard Branson’s satellite launch company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US this month, extinguishing any lingering hope that it could become a mainstay on the Cornish coast.
Virgin Orbit’s plan for the first orbital space launch from British soil came to a crashing halt in January with the failure of its mission from Newquay.
Court documents reveal creditors include many local businesses, such as catering firms and hotels. Cornwall council and the BBC are also named.
Simon Dean, who runs All-pac Packaging Supplies in Newquay, is owed £1,300. ‘I have been sending emails to people, but they are not being answered,’ he said, adding that to chase the money he would have to go to Virgin Orbit’s head office in Long Beach, California. ‘We’re not a big enough company to do that. I’d have to hire someone else.’
