Richard Branson is to sell $500m in Virgin Galactic shares to prop up his airline and leisure interests, which have been ravaged by the coronavirus crisis.

In a statement to the New York Stock Exchange, Branson’s Virgin Group said it intended to sell 25m shares via a series of transactions, prompting a 5% fall in the share price of Virgin Galactic during pre-market trading.

The shares, which account for just over a fifth of the billionaire’s stake in the space tourism business, were worth $500m at their pre-announcement price of $20. Virgin owns 81% of Vieco 10, the vehicle selling the shareholding, and will raise around $400m from the sale with the rest going to Aabar, an Abu Dhabi investment fund.

Performance of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (Source: Investing.com)