The deal, announced in a Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) statement this morning, is for two new communication satellites and will see components and major parts assembled in the UK before final assembly is completed in Toulouse, France.

The agreement will support 500 highly skilled workers involved in Eutelsat projects, with Airbus sites in Portsmouth and Stevenage manufacturing key components of the two new satellites for Eutelsat.

Eutelsat is to replace its three existing satellites with two new ones set to launch in 2021. Six out of seven of the company’s next satellites will be partially built in the UK, an inward investment equivalent to up to €40m (£35.5m) per year.

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