James Peck

Seraphim Space Investment Trust received broad coverage following our latest RNS, reporting a 24% increase in NAV in the final quarter of 2025. The £69m uplift was driven by valuation gains across our four largest holdings, reflecting contract wins and late-stage funding rounds. Coverage included: • QuotedData, reporting the £69m portfolio uplift https://lnkd.in/eueHkiFE • Proactive, in its FTSE 100 Live market coverage https://lnkd.in/eA7gyfsj • Citywire, noting NAV “rockets 24%” https://lnkd.in/eqFgzNhk • TipRanks, focusing on contract wins and funding rounds https://lnkd.in/ezdCrthn • Morningstar, citing SSIT among its small-cap movers https://lnkd.in/eeGkvu7b Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e32eH2FA #SeraphimSpace #DualUse #SpaceTech #SpaceEconomy #VentureCapital #DefenceTech

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Good insight from my colleague Matt McNally on PE prospects for the built environment and industrials sectors. Well worth the 2 minute read.

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Secondaries are a critical part of a healthy venture ecosystem, liquidity for teams, recycling capital and supporting companies as they scale. They’ve also long been an important part of Molten’s strategy. Excited to see us doubling down with a dedicated team. Welcome Malcolm, Nick and Steven 👊

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Further broad coverage has followed Seraphim Space Investment Trust’s latest RNS outlining valuation uplifts across its four largest holdings. In This Is Money, Jeff Prestridge referenced SSIT’s performance and recent portfolio momentum following his three years as an investor. https://lnkd.in/eXJ3c2qn In interactive investor, Ian Cowie highlighted the trust’s share price appreciation and the strategic relevance of its defence-related space exposure. https://lnkd.in/etiqyH68 #SeraphimSpace #DualUse #SpaceTech #DefenceTech #SpaceEconomy

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"It's more than 90% of businesses that are private in Europe. If you are an investor that doesn't touch private markets, you're missing out on 90% of the available opportunities." Hg Senior Partner and Executive Chairman Nic Humphries discusses how unlocking access to private markets is critical so that investors can gain exposure to a large portion of the investable universe. Watch the entire conversation on Alt Goes Mainstream here: https://lnkd.in/erQGkAMK

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Series A is often the moment that defines whether a startup scales or stalls. So what are investors actually looking for at that stage?In this conversation with Stephen Johnson from Mercia Asset Management PLC, we cover why team conviction often outweighs product at Series A, what outsized returns really mean inside a VC portfolio and how it shapes every decision, how to build a credible fundraising narrative by being clear on what must be true, and why moments like AI are creating entirely new windows for founders who can move fast. Which part of the fundraising narrative do you think founders most commonly get wrong? (full episode link in comments) #VentureCapital #SeriesA

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It’s that time… 🎙️ This Wednesday, the latest episode of the Investors for Purpose Podcast goes live, where Lauren Juliff and I from Clean Growth Fund join the conversation. We discuss the climate crisis, the urgent need for low-carbon alternatives, and how innovative technologies, often backed by venture capital, are progressing through the commercialisation journey. A topic close to our hearts at Clean Growth Fund, and one we’re excited to share more on. Available from Wednesday 18 March on our website and across all major podcast platforms. #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #CleanGrowth #Innovation

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Pleased to see Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) featured in Investors' Chronicle today. While focused on the rebound of traditional private equity trusts, the article also highlights the strength of growth capital vehicles, especially those exposed to defence and space technologies, recognising SSIT as the top performer in this category over the past year. Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/ecZWeNjt #SeraphimSpace #DualUse #SpaceTech #DefenceTech #VentureCapital #InvestmentTrusts #SpaceEconomy #CapitalMarkets

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UK Research and Innovation’s excellent new report by our former colleague Tony Hickson sets out both the strength of the UK’s spinout landscape and the work still needed to ensure more of these companies scale here at home. One recommendation stands out: a call to expand proof‑of‑concept funding to £100 million a year - a critical step to stop high‑potential ideas stalling too early. The report also highlights the complexity founders face navigating public funding routes. Greater coordination across government and funding bodies will be essential if we want more of this innovation to translate into commercial success. At IP Group plc, including Parkwalk, we see the impact of early, patient capital every day. We welcome this report and the ambition behind it, and we will continue to help more breakthrough research develop into the companies that will drive UK growth in the years ahead. The UK has the talent and the ideas. Now we need to maximise the chance of success. https://lnkd.in/ephJQmgu

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London’s deep tech pipeline is strong. The bit we’re all working on now is the scale.   Today I joined a panel as part of Imperial College London's launch of #GraphtWorks —London’s first dedicated facility for advanced manufacturing—hosted in West London. Alongside Owen Ensor (Meatly), Yohann Sequeira (Epoch Biodesign) and Matthew Carpen (Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)), with Mary Ryan chairing, we dug into what “innovation-powered growth” looks like in practice.   My main takeaway: ecosystem infrastructure is a growth lever. Not just transport links and office space, but places where teams can prototype, validate, and run pilots with the right equipment and the right neighbours—so the feedback loop from lab to market gets shorter.   Credit to Imperial College London and everyone who’s made #GraphtWorks real, and a warm welcome to the first tenants: Solena Materials Limited, Epoch Biodesign, 2D Nano, Ki Hydrogen, Nanomox, Aed Energy.  

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Cordiant Digital Infrastructure (LSE:CORD) is pleased to announce its intention to migrate to the Official List on the LSE (subject to board, shareholder & FCA approvals), supporting eligibility to (finally) join major equity indices such as the FTSE 250 🚀

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Thanks Clean Cities ClimAccelerator for inviting me to talk to your current cohort about investing in sustainability. I was happy to recommend these three resources as valuable background reading for any founders starting up cleantech: 1) The Climate Tech Atlas from Breakthrough Energy , Speed & Scale, McKinsey & Company Sustainability team, Elemental Impact, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and Energy Innovation Policy and Technology LLC. This is a remake of the original five "Grand Challenges" described by Breakthrough when they set up ten years ago, and developed by the brilliant book "Speed & Scale" by John Doerr. It's a practical framework for operators to understand where the gaps still remain in our fight to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, divided into 'moonshots' and 'innovation imperatives' (accelerators and enablers', all assigned an emissions reduction potential figure in Gigatonnes of CO2e, to help align the work of everyone in this space. The world is burning and we don't have time to waste working on solutions that are not going to have the impact we need. https://lnkd.in/enWehsTt 2) The Climate Brick, the 'missing manual for the new climate tech journey', a community project initiated by climate investors led by EQT Group and Contrarian Ventures and now powered by over 100 VCs, founders and later stage investors. The Climate Brick is also an alignment tool, aiming to get the ecosystem working with the same approach for different classes of technology from asset-as-a-service, moonshots and companion software. https://lnkd.in/exN6yW-K 3) The Deep Tech Napkin from First Momentum Ventures focusses in on hard tech (not climate specific), helping founders and investors with rules of thumb for valuations, teams, tech and commercialisation milestones for each round. https://lnkd.in/eCN384bJ These three resources are all trying to align the climatetech ecosystem to increase our efficiency and speed of deployment - so we can get the solutions we need to market as quickly as possible. Onwards! #VC #VentureCapital #Cleantech #Climatetech #ZeroCarbon

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The latest British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Performance Measurement Survey is a treasure trove of data on UK VC and should be required reading for anybody looking to commit to the asset class. In particular, investors need to appreciate the wide dispersion of returns within the VC industry. Overall, UK VC funds (2005-2020 vintages) have delivered a solid 12.6% net IRR. However, the average fund (median return) has generated just a 4.0% net IRR. In contrast, just 10% of funds are delivering an IRR of 20% or more. So if you are looking to invest in UK VC, how do you plan to consistently find the small number of funds that are capable of delivering the strong performance LPs are targeting from the asset class?

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Over the past two years, I’ve had a front-row seat at one of the UK’s leading university innovation ecosystems. Our universities consistently produce world-class science and technology, feeding an exceptional pipeline of spinout companies. Turning that strength into long-term economic impact, however, requires the right conditions to support companies as they grow. A new report by Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer at Cancer Research UK, commissioned by Research England for UKRI (UK Research and Innovation), looks at how effectively the UK is converting this strength into long-term economic growth and where the system needs to evolve. The report rightly highlights the need to bridge the scale-up gap if research excellence and spinouts are to become a primary driver of national resilience. In particular, it points to the importance of unlocking meaningful flows of long-term capital and strengthening alignment between universities, investors, and the public sector. From our experience at Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), an independent, billion-pound investment company backing 125+ science and technology startups emerging from University of Oxford, the message from founders is clear. If the UK wants its most ambitious science-based companies to scale and stay independent, government action is needed in three key areas: 1. Unlock UK scale-up capital: mobilise domestic pension and institutional capital so high-growth companies don’t have to go overseas to raise their scale-up finance. 2. Compete globally for founders and leadership talent: create a tax, visa and mobility framework that attracts and retains the world’s best deep tech talent here. 3. Use public procurement more strategically: enable faster access to public sector contracts for the innovation-leading SMEs so that they’re anchored here in the UK and don’t need to raise as much capital. Only then can they enhance the UK’s sovereign capabilities at a time of growing geo-political uncertainty. As OSE is demonstrating, when world-class science is matched with exceptional leadership, patient capital and integrated venture-building support, the results can be transformative. The spinout ecosystem has the power to create companies with global potential, delivering lasting value for the UK economy and security. Tony Hickson’s research shows the scale of the opportunity and what we must do to fully realise the potential of our university-based scientific innovation. At OSE, our perspective is informed by the ‘front-line’ experience of 125+ UK companies at the cutting edge of UK science. We see the opportunity, the obstacles – and the solutions. We welcome our continued engagement with those shaping policy and capital allocation to help turn research excellence into sustained UK growth. But what we need now is bold, decisive action by government – at speed and at scale – on capital, talent and procurement. The clock is ticking.

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The EMK Way is about building stronger, more resilient businesses. Our Responsible Investment Report 2024 demonstrates how this approach creates lasting value for investors and positive outcomes across our portfolio. You can read the full report below.

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It was great to join Nick from EIGHT ADVISORY and Maria from Mayfair Equity Partners LLP at the Real Deals value creation summit last week, talking about PE's approach to AI. What are some key changes in the industry?  🔄 Initially AI adoption has been company-led, but that’s shifting. PE firms are increasingly taking a lead on best practice, rolling out agents and models, and using internal forums—like ECI Partners AI SteerCo—to create good operational and governance models  🛠️ The AI maturity gap between different PE firms, and their portfolio companies, is widening. It takes time and good data to get tools like our AI powered origination engine, Amplifind. Similarly portfolio companies that were early adopters—like Avantia and Moneypenny in our portfolio—are seeing a huge opportunity in their markets  💡 PE companies have a role to encourage innovation—we heard about one Fund offering cash to back the best AI ideas across its portfolio—innovation meets incentive! Similarly its about sharing the best ideas across portfolio as we saw at our recent Digital Growth Summit ⚖️ And let’s not forget the ethics. As investors, we have a role to provide guidance on good AI governance. It's important to be able to understand and explain what the machines are doing!

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UK Investor Group Forms to Highlight the Importance of Good Governance "The Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC) warns that the British government’s sweeping overhaul of listing rules in its bid to try and attract more innovative and high-growth companies to UK has watered down longstanding shareholder rights that will ultimately dent investor enthusiasm." This effort is laudable but at least part misses a fundamental point. They are trying to take action for better governance in the context of the current public company governance model when what is really needed is a radical change to the model itself. If you want improvement, then this should begin with defining the governing objective as optimizing capital allocation and maximizing operating performance and longer-term shareholder value. Increasing "transparency" etc. is all well and good but will not move the needle in a material way. #corporategovernance #governancearbitrage #newgovernancemodel https://lnkd.in/g-U473ZH

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