Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSIT) said terms have been agreed on several new investments that should complete in the coming quarter, after gains in private holdings offset falls in the value of listed holdings in the past quarter.
The investment trust’s net asset value (NAV) was £250mln or 104p per share at the end of March, compared to £251mln or 105p at the start of what was its third quarter.
This was driven by the impact of weak equity markets on the value of its listed portfolio companies, principally Arqit Quantum Inc (NASDAQ:ARQQ), mostly offset by the uplift in unlisted portfolio holdings, principally D-Orbit.
“Like many pioneering technology companies, SSIT and its listed holdings were not immune to the broader worldwide sell-off of technology and growth stocks, precipitated by rising interest rates, global energy prices, high inflation and Russia's war in Ukraine,” said chair Will Whitehorn.
“However, we are increasingly optimistic about the company's prospects,” he said, seeing “robust” fundamentals for what Seraphim calls the spacetech market, with the trust’s portfolio value increasing from £183mn the previous quarter to £188mln, representing a 10% uplift on the cost of investment.
The quarter saw £6.5mln of capital deployed across four deals, including follow-on investments in Spire Global and Edgybees and new investments in Earth observation platform Pixxel and an mystery unnamed company, which lifted the portfolio to 23 companies.
With liquid resources of £62mln at the end of the quarter, Seraphim said it has agreed terms on several new investments which are expected to completed by the 30 June year end, subject to due diligence.
While financial markets have been volatile in recent months, fundraising activity within the portfolio also remains “robust”, the trust said, with multiple follow-on transactions at an advanced stage.
For new investments, areas of current focus were said to include companies with climate- and environmental-related applications.
Said Whitehorn: “As well as addressing the climate crisis, the sector is also now playing a crucial role in helping to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine, with several of the company's portfolio companies at the forefront of these efforts.”
Mark Boggett, chief executive of the trust’s investment manager, said the team remain satisfied with the performance of the company and its portfolio, with a total of £142.3mln deployed into 14 companies since listing.
“The company's stable performance for the period is reflective of the strong underlying condition of the portfolio. Most companies are well capitalised and tracking positively against our expectations.”
He said that activity levels around spacetech in the private capital markets remain high, with an increase in the number of privately financed spacetech transactions closed each quarter and a total of over US$12bn invested during the 12 months to the end of March.