Baillie Gifford’s Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust has acquired a holding in Elon Musk's SpaceX.
SpaceX - formally known as Space Exploration Technologies - has pioneered an innovative and vertically integrated approach to manufacture and launch of reusable rockets.
Edinburgh firm Baillie Gifford's Worldwide fund has 4% of its assets in six unlisted investments: Akili Interactive Labs; KSQ Therapeutics; Oxford Nanopore Technologies; Reaction Engines; Space Exploration Technologies; and Spire Global.
The trust's six-monthly report says: “This is creating a series of cost and capability improvements which are transforming both the opportunity and economics of the space industry, whilst cementing SpaceX at its centre.
"We are hugely excited by the long-term potential this creates and the diverse revenue opportunities being unlocked in areas such as global consumer broadband and space logistics."
Strong performance in Ilika, a UK developer of materials for mass market applications; LendingTree, a US online loan marketplace; and CyberArk Software, an Israeli cyber security solutions provider, also helped lift Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust.
Over the six month period, BG Worldwide's net asset value per share increased by 12.5% while the comparative index increased by 5.7%. The share price rose by 16.4%.
The trust issued 8,175,000 new shares at a premium to its net asset value, raising net proceeds of £14.8 million. Since then a further 3,350,000 new shares have been issued raising a further £6.3 million.
The report said: “The board and managers remain enthused by the range and type of companies held and believe that patient investors will be rewarded over the long term.’’
