Richard Branson and other sea life in captivity for entertainment purposes. In November 2017, singer Antonia Jenae, a backing singer for Joss Stone, claimed Branson sexually assaulted her at Necker Island. A spokesperson for Branson confirmed to "The Sun" newspaper that members of the band had been invited for a party on the island in 2010, but that he and friends and family in attendance had "no recollection" of the events. Branson later apologised. In November 2010, Branson secured a sponsorship deal from controversial company QNet for his Virgin Racing which is owned by QI Group head by Vijay Eswaran, who is
Richard Branson charge of over 230 services nationwide. In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital space launch system, designated LauncherOne. Four commercial customers have already contracted for launches and two companies are developing standardised satellite buses optimised to the design of LauncherOne, in expectation of business opportunities created by the new "smallsat" launcher. In August 2012, the franchise for the West Coast Main Line, managed by Virgin Rail since 1997, came to an end. The contract was awarded to FirstGroup after a competitive tender process overseen by the Department for Transport. Branson had expressed his concerns about the tender