OHB’s UK Subsidiary Lands First Major ESA Contract as Record Backlog Fuels Growth Ambitions

OHB SE's UK arm wins €24M ESA EnVision Venus prime subcontract; backlog hits €3.35B, revenue up 15% in Q1 2026. Plans to expand workforce to 100+ engineers.

OHB SE’s bet on expanding beyond its German home base is already paying dividends. Barely a year after opening its doors, OHB Space UK has secured its first prime subcontract from the European Space Agency — a €24 million role in the EnVision mission to Venus. The contract, awarded by lead contractor Thales Alenia Space, puts the Bristol-based unit in charge of spacecraft assembly and full testing ahead of the planned 2031 launch.

The UK team, which started with just 14 employees, is gearing up for a rapid scale-up. Management plans to more than sevenfold the workforce to over 100 engineers within five years, supported by a new cleanroom facility under construction at the Aztec West site. CEO Marco Fuchs described the deal as a natural extension of the group’s international growth strategy, one that builds on an already stellar start to 2026.

Backing that ambition is a record order book. At the end of March, OHB’s total backlog hit €3.35 billion, a 45% jump from the same period last year. The first-quarter figures underscore the momentum: group revenue rose 15% to just under €201 million, while adjusted EBIT climbed to €16.8 million. EBITDA also improved sharply, gaining 37% to €27.3 million, and the equity ratio strengthened to nearly 30%.

The surge is being driven by a diversified pipeline that extends well beyond the new UK business. Major projects include the €248 million EPS-Sterna microsatellite constellation, the ESA-led Ramses asteroid-defence mission under OHB Italia, and the newly established European Moonport Company targeting future lunar infrastructure. Analysts see this broadening of the project portfolio as a key strength, providing long-term revenue visibility that insulates the stock from broader market volatility.

Looking ahead, OHB has raised its growth forecast for the next two years, pointing to rising budgets at the ESA and EU level as well as increasing demand from the defence sector. The group is targeting annual order intake of around €3 billion in the medium term — all funded organically, with no near-term need for equity issuance.

In a clear message to investors, Fuchs confirmed that OHB will remain listed despite the entry of private equity firm KKR as a major shareholder. A delisting is not on the agenda, he said, arguing that the transparency of a publicly traded company builds trust with institutional customers awarding multibillion-euro contracts. The group plans to elaborate on its strategy at a Capital Markets Update on 18 May 2026, followed by the annual general meeting on 24 June.