Baillie Gifford’s $2.5 billion Schiehallion Fund investment trust company said its ordinary share net asset value (NAV) returned 29.1% and its share price returned 10.1% for the six months to July 31, 2026, boosted by the IPOs of SpaceX, Bending Spoons and Merlin Labs.

Schiehallion Fund managers Peter Singlehurst and Robert Natzler said the IPO of SpaceX represented a significant milestone for the fund “with SpaceX having been the very first investment made by the company in 2019, at a valuation of US$33 billion” which subsequently increased more than 53-fold over the holding period.

“The historical trajectory of this investment is testament to the immense amount of value that can be created in private growth markets, as well as the continued significance of public markets as an exit avenue …” wrote the managers.

“Over the past twelve months the NAV return has been 55.8%, coupled with a share price return of 63.3% …

“Bending Spoons was the top contributor to absolute NAV performance over the period as the valuation was increased in the lead-up to the IPO once pricing was confirmed, and the shares then subsequently traded positively during July.

“SpaceX was the next best contributor, also driven by valuation uplifts as IPO visibility crystallised. Another notable contributor was Tekever, the Portuguese autonomous drone maker, which saw a significant valuation uplift during the period through a combination of strong operational performance and an external price discovery event.”

Despite the strong first half investment performance, the shares of Schiehallion Fund ended the period at a discount of 14.4% to NAV, compared with a small premium of 0.4% at the beginning of the financial period.

Schiehallion Fund  chair Linda Yueh said: “During periods when the shares traded at a premium, the company reissued treasury shares and issued new ordinary shares at a weighted average premium to NAV of 11.3%, raising gross proceeds of approximately US$28.4 million.

“The board believes that issuing shares at a premium benefits existing shareholders by spreading the company’s fixed costs over a larger asset base while ensuring that issuance is accretive to NAV.

“Towards the end of the period, as the shares moved to a discount, the company repurchased 650,000 ordinary shares into treasury.

“The board continues to monitor closely the rating at which the company’s shares trade and will consider both share issuance and share repurchases where appropriate, taking account of shareholder interests, market conditions, liquidity requirements and investment opportunities.”