Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their acquisition of a share of OneWeb on 3 July 2020, what loss was made by OneWeb at the time of purchase; how many directors are on the board of OneWeb; how many of those board members they have appointed; who they have appointed to the board of OneWeb; and whether they have a veto in relation to OneWeb’s (1) company policy, or (2) disposal of shares.

OneWeb has now raised $2.4bn of equity commitments from investors and while the most recent funding rounds are going through standard regulatory approval processes, we expect the company to begin generating revenues and profit in the coming years following the introduction of commercial services.

There are currently eight directors on the board, of which the Government holds three seats. These roles are currently filled by Hugo Robson (BEIS), Tom Cooper (UK Government Investments), and Rob Woodward (Chair of the Met Office). The board will expand in the coming months as recent investments receive regulatory clearance and independent directors are appointed.

The Government benefits from a number of board and shareholder reserved matters including some specific Government-reserved matters related to, among other things, the future sale of the company, future access to OneWeb technology and veto rights on the grounds of national security.