Branson wingman joins Seraphim

SIR Richard Branson’s right-hand man is ditching him to head for the stars.

Patrick McCall, former chairman of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, joins Londonlisted Seraphim Space Investment Trust this week as a venture partner.

Seraphim focuses on fast-growing space tech firms and has put £135m into them since floating on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. Branson is a backer.

McCall, 57, has been a director at Virgin since 2001 and has developed businesses including Virgin Active and Virgin Trains.

His most recent role was senior partner at Virgin Group. He played a key role in brokering the agreement for it to launch a satellite from Cornwall this year.

He will sit on the boards of companies Seraphim has invested in, such as D-Orbit, which drops off other firm’ satellites in space and collects old or broken kit.

McCall said: ‘New tech and rapid innovation are driving significant progress in the sector and enabling new space companies to tackle some of the world’s most complex environmental and social challenges.’