Seraphim: pushing the frontiers of space tech investing

Master Investors

As the world's first listed space tech fund, Seraphim Space Investment Trust has a first mover advantage in a sector that is starting to get crowded.

Private equity, sovereign wealth funds and climate-related funds are now appreciating what Seraphim had predicted years ago in that space tech provides the utilities required for sustainability, digitisation, climate protection and national defence.

Managing director and chief executive Mark Boggett says with its 126 strong space tech company portfolio Seraphim is "the most prolific and most active investor in the space market".

He talks about how economies are intrinsically linked to space related activities. "If you were to switch off the satellites", he says, "the loss to the U.K. over seven days would be $7 billion."

Boggett says the industry globally is worth $450 billion a year, and a few of the companies in Seraphim’s portfolio have already achieved single digit billion dollar valuations and "there's plenty of scope for them to be valued in tens of billions and beyond during the course of the next few years and we believe that there is evidence they are heading in that direction".

He and his team aspire to, and are accustomed to big numbers and big concepts. Chairman Will Whitehorn was a founding member of Virgin Galactic and advisor to Sir Richard Branson as was Seraphim’s Richard McCall. The roll call of entrepreneurial greats is a force that is strong within the company and includes Maureen Haverty, who was COO at space startup Apollo Fusion that was acquired for $145M.

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