Richard Branson sells third stake in Virgin Galactic to prop up other firms

Shares in space tourism firm worth $300m will support Virgin Atlantic and other businesses hit by Covid-19

Richard Branson has sold a further $300m (220m) stake in Virgin Galactic to raise more funds to prop up his airline, Virgin Atlantic, and other businesses hit hard by the pandemic.

It is the third time Sir Branson, 71, has sold a large tranche of shares in in his space tourism company since it joined the New York stock exchange in 2019. He sold $505m worth in May 2020 and $150m in April this year, taking his total stake sales to almost $1bn. He still holds about 46m shares worth $1.2bn.