Britain’s first listed funding belief centered on the ultimate frontier is exploring alternative routes to boost capital after seeing its shares crash amid weakening investor sentiment.
Sky News has learnt that Seraphim Space Investment Trust, which has backed modern corporations resembling SatelliteVu, an infrared knowledge enterprise, and Altitude Angel, a drone know-how developer, is inspecting plans to safe new funding exterior its quoted firm construction.
Banking sources stated on Tuesday that Seraphim Space was contemplating plans to create a so-called sidecar fund into which buyers might inject a considerable sum to again new area know-how corporations.
It can also be stated to be assessing different potential buildings to boost cash that don’t contain issuing fairness by means of the listed firm.
Seraphim Space has seen its shares plummet by a 3rd over the past 12 months, leaving it buying and selling at a really substantial low cost to the web asset worth of its portfolio.
Its discussions with advisers about elevating new capital are stated to be at a comparatively early stage.
One supply stated it needed to boost in extra of £150m, though the timing, measurement and construction of any deal depends on investor urge for food and market circumstances.
Announcing its full-year outcomes final month, Mark Boggett, chief govt of Seraphim Space Manager LLP, which manages the belief, stated: “Whilst we expect to continue to diversify the portfolio with selective new investments, uncertainty around the timing of market recovery (and, therefore, our ability to raise new equity capital) means that the size of new investments will likely be small, with investment activity expected to be more weighted in favour of supporting the existing portfolio until a time when the market provides the appropriate conditions to fundraise.”
Seraphim Space had been drawing up plans for a traditional share sale early final 12 months however noticed its plans deflated by the hunch in know-how shares.
The firm is chaired by Will Whitehorn, a former president of Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson’s area tourism enterprise.
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Its early backers included the British Business Bank, the European plane-maker Airbus and the European Space Agency.
The funding belief floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.
On Tuesday afternoon, shares in Seraphim Space have been buying and selling at round 30.17p, giving it a market worth of simply £72.5m.
A spokeswoman for the corporate declined to remark.
Source: information.sky.com”