Growth capital trust Seraphim Space (LON:SSIT) has disclosed a ‘material’ net asset value (NAV) uplift driven by a new financing round for Xona Space Systems. The California-based start-up has become the investment trust’s second largest holding as a result.
The SpaceTech fund invested US$15 million in the funding round through its C share portfolio. Seraphim Space said the financing has resulted in a £52.2 million increase in the fair value of the Xona holding in its ordinary share portfolio. And this has added 22p per share to the trust’s NAV.
To learn more about Seraphim Space, watch our Podcast interview with James Bruegger here.
What does Xona do?
Seraphim Space invested $15 million from the £137 million it raised via May’s C share issue as part of Xona’s $170 million Series C financing round. The latest fundraise valued the California-based firm at $768 million.
The existing holding is now valued at $106.5 million, rising to $121.5 million including the new C share investment. Seraphim Space expects the uplift to be ‘substantially’ reflected in the 30 September 2026 portfolio valuation.
Xona is aiming to deliver the next generation of satellite navigation, through the development of the world’s first commercial GPS constellation in low-earth orbit.
Addressing a fundamental challenge
James Bruegger, CIO of Seraphim Space Manager LLP, said: ‘Xona is addressing a fundamental challenge: the world is becoming increasingly dependent on satellite navigation, but existing infrastructure cannot provide the accuracy, resilience and security that next-generation applications require.
| AIC Growth Capital Sector | Total assets (£m) | Discount/premium to NAV | 1-yr share price total return |
| Seraphim Space | 421.3 | +7.9% | +180% |
| Schiehallion Fund | 2,027.2 | -15.8% | +87.9% |
| Molten Ventures | 1,483.7 | -11.1% | +76.1% |
| Schroders Capital Global Innovation | 115.2 | -31.7% | +1.3% |
| Schroder British Opportunities | 79.2 | -39.1% | -11.3% |
Source: The AIC/Morningstar
‘This financing is an important milestone as Xona builds a commercial upgrade to GPS, on which the global economy depends.’
Bruegger stressed that the Xona financing ‘demonstrates the Seraphim model at its best: identifying exceptional founders early, supporting them through our accelerator and continuing to invest as they scale.’
We are fans of Seraphim Space. The investment trust provides private investors with access to a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity in the global SpaceTech sector.
Furthermore, it is pleasing to see the trust continue to put the proceeds of May’s record C share issue to work. Xona marks the fourth investment using this cash. In August, the trust deployed a total of $55 million in existing holdings Hubble Network, Pixxel and Zeno Power.
As David Batchelor, senior analyst at QuotedData, pointed out: ‘This latest development also illustrates the advantages of SSIT’s position within the wider Seraphim investment ecosystem, which allows it to back promising businesses through successive funding rounds.’
