Seraphim Space Investment Trust — the world’s first listed space tech investment company — is to enter the FTSE 250 Index on 19 June.

The company, chaired by Edinburgh space pioneer Will Whitehorn, who was former president of Virgin Galactic, said elevation to the index represents an important milestone in the company’s development since its IPO in 2021.

It reflects the continued growth in its portfolio value and investor interest in the SpaceTech market. It recently raised £137m in a C share exercise.

Mr Whitehorn, who is Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Our inclusion in the FTSE 250 marks a significant milestone for Seraphim Space Investment Trust and is a clear reflection of the progress we have made in scaling the company over the last five years and demonstrating the attractiveness of SpaceTech as an institutional asset class.

“We believe this inclusion will further enhance the company’s visibility, improve liquidity and support continued growth in our shareholder base.”

Mark Boggett, chief executive, said: “SSIT joining the FTSE 250 reflects not only the company’s progress, but the transition of space from a specialist technology theme into a core pillar of global infrastructure. Space has become foundational to how nations operate, compete and secure their future.

“As the only listed investment company offering diversified access to this largely privately backed ecosystem, SSIT is uniquely positioned to participate in, and help shape, this next phase of growth.”

Speaking recently at The Business breakfast event in Glasgow, Whitehorn spoke of the opportunities in space.

“There are tens of thousands of new space companies. This is an industrial revolution, and it is going to affect everything that happens going forward for almost every business in the world. It’s already having big impacts on the insurance market, agriculture and defence.”

 Speaking on the growth in satellites, he said: “We are about to go through the 30,000
mark. That’s mostly happened in the last six years. By 2028, we will probably have around 100,000 satellites in space. And they are doing so many things that we don’t even see or notice, yet we are benefiting from them.”

The company seeks exposure predominantly to growth stage private financed SpaceTech businesses that have the potential to dominate globally and that are sector leaders with first mover advantages in areas such as climate, communications, mobility and cyber security.

Whitehorn helped set up Seraphim, which floated on the stock market in 2021, and the investment trust now has a stake in 32 space companies.

“That’s only one tiny aspect of the huge change that’s going on. It’s why ICEYE, one of the companies that we’ve invested in, and one of the fastest growing in the world, has developed a constellation of satellites that can see through cloud and during darkness.”

“The next aspect of space’s development is AI related. Space produces perfect data at all levels. Hyper-spectral cameras, laser-penetration of ground, new radars which can look though clouds and at night.

“Put all these things together and we are announcing more data from space every week than the whole of what the internet contained in 2001. The next phase is data farms and server farms in space. The next space data centre is going into space in the next 25 months,” he said in Glasgow.

The company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.