Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LON:SSIT) has managed to grow its portfolio value slightly since floating in July 2021, but the share price has slumped from the offer price of 100p to 51.8p, down 1.25p on the day.
NAV increased from £175.1m at the time of flotation to £239.3m at the end of June 2022, while net assets per share are 99.97p. That means that the 4.3% increase in fair portfolio value to £186m almost covers float costs and the costs of running the investment trust. There was a decline in portfolio value during the fourth quarter because of a fall in the share prices of quoted investments.
There was £57.7m available for further investment and £8.9m has been subsequently invested in three new and four follow-on investments. There is no lack of opportunities.
New investments include Voyager Space Holdings, which wants to build a commercial space station, and Taranis, which uses earth observation data to optimist crop yields.
There are 26 companies in the portfolio. Most of the investments are unquoted, so there is not likely to be any short-term movements unless there is a fundraising.
Seraphim Space IT has always been a long-term investment and many investee companies will not be successful. There was always a higher level of risk than for a standard investment trust. The fund managers are in a strong position to pick some companies that will prosper and push the share price ahead over the coming decade. There is an opportunity to gain exposure to space investments at a significant discount.
