Rocket maker Virgin Orbit has ceased operations after failing to secure fresh funding, according to reports.

After culling almost 90 per cent of its headcount late last week, CNBC reported that chief executive Dan Hart told staff that Virgin Orbit was ceasing operations for “the foreseeable future”.

“Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company,” Hart told staff, according to audio of the meeting obtained by the media company.

The writing was on the wall for entrepreneur Richard Branson’s company after its stock fell by around 90 per cent over the past year. Last week, Virgin Orbit stocks were trading at around 20 cents on the Nasdaq, making the company worth about £74 million.

Virgin Orbit was previously given a valuation of £4 billion in 2021 as it prepared to go public in a deal facilitated by a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

At the time, Branson told CNBC segment ‘Squawk on the Street’: “I certainly wouldn’t have invested a billion dollars if I wasn’t extremely confident, and we’ve had a great experience with SPACs and I’m hoping that we’ll have the same experience with Virgin Orbit.”

The demise of Virgin Orbit will likely have been accelerated by a launch failure in January which may have dented investor confidence.

The ‘Start Me Up’ mission was poised to become the first ever orbital launch from UK soil but failed to reach orbit as an anomaly found in the LauncherOne rocket’s second-stage engine caused a “premature shutdown of first burn of second stage’.

“It was a ‘$100 part’ that took us out,” Hart said at the time.

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