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Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC on Thursday said its stake in Space Exploration Technologies Corp helped it outperform its benchmark index in the past six months. The Edinburgh-based growth stock investor managed by Baillie Gifford & Co said its net asset value per ordinary share rose 8.4% to 239.58 pence at April 30 from 220.97p at October 31. Over the same time frame, total assets grew 6.9% to £905.6 million from GBPP847.0 million and shareholders’ funds by 7.8% to £828.7 million from £769.0 million. Share price total return was 15% in the half-year, compared with a total return of 9.4% from the S&P Global Small Cap Index, in sterling terms. ‘The share price return was ahead of both the NAV return and the comparative index, reflecting a narrowing of the company’s discount over the period,’ the investment trust noted. SpaceX, held in the portfolio since 2018, was the largest contributor to performance over the period, EWIT said. At April 30, SpaceX made up 19% of EWIT’s portfolio compared to 8.4% at October 31 last year. The value of the holding rocketed to £170.9 million from £71.2 million six months prior. Elon Musk’s rocket and AI company started trading earlier this month after completing the largest initial public offering in history. On Wednesday, SpaceX closed at $154.54 each in New York, still above the $135 per share IPO price despite a 26% decline in the past week, for a market value of $2.03 trillion. EWIT pays no dividend. However, it confirmed on Thursday it is ‘committed to delivering the liquidity mandate requested by shareholders’, freeing up cash for returns by selling SpaceX shares. ‘Our intention is to offer shareholders that opportunity as soon as reasonably practicable following the orderly realisation of the company’s holding in SpaceX,’ EWIT said. Last month, the trust’s new board said its ‘top priority is maximising value for all shareholders’ after Saba Capital Management LP succeeded in ousting the previous board, following a long stand-off. ‘The timing, structure and scale of any liquidity event will depend on a number of factors, including the proceeds available to the company, prevailing market conditions and the orderly disposal of the SpaceX or other positions,’ EWIT said on Thursday. ‘Our objective is to deliver the outcome shareholders have asked for, and we will keep shareholders informed as our plans develop.’ Shares were up 0.4% too 278.60p each in London on Thursday. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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