The stunning $350bn valuation achieved by Elon Musk’s SpaceX in its latest share sale has boosted Schiehallion (MNTN ), Baillie Gifford’s late-stage private equity fund.

Following the reported 65% increase in the unquoted share price of SpaceX since September, the board of the £856m investment company yesterday said it had been advised by the fund manager of a ‘trigger event’ requiring an upward adjustment in the valuation of the private rocket company.

As a result at 11 December, SpaceX accounted for 9.7% of Schiehallion’s dollar-denominated portfolio, up from 6.7% on 30 November and 8.5% on 31 October. That likely makes it the trust’s biggest holding, ahead of Affirm, the US lending platform, and Bytedance, TikTok’s video sharing app, that each took up 7% of assets at the end of last month.   

Net asset value (NAV) per share, including income and with debt at ‘par’ or maturity value, stood at 129.7 cents on 11 December, the company said.

Although this is just 2% more than the NAV per share 126.7p at 29 November, it represents an underlying 10% gain since 31 October when the valuation was 116.54p.

That was just before the culmination of the US election on 4 November and news of Donald Trump’s sweeping victory. Hopes of de-regulation and tax cuts have galvanised the US stock market. Musk, a prominent ally of the Republican leader, has, according to a Bloomberg estimate, seen his net worth soar 66% to $43bn, helped by Tesla, the electric car company he also founded, roaring 49% higher to a £1.3trn valuation.

Specialising in unquoted companies, Schiehallion does not own Tesla. However, the 9.5% rally in the Nasdaq Composite, which has pushed the US tech stock index’s gain this year to nearly 35%, has a direct readacross to the portfolio managed by Peter Singlehurst and Robert Natzler. 

Its shares dipped 1.7% to $1.04 this morning but have rallied 29% from 81 cents on 4 November. This has narrowed the 27% discount, or gap between the share price and NAV, from 27% to 20%. 

The company, named after a famous munro or mountain in Scotland, has climbed 40% since the start of the year when the shares stood at 74 cents and has more than doubled since a 48 cent low in October last year. 

While a big advance, the shares remain well below their $2.93 peak in November 2021 before soaring inflation and interest rates crushed the bull market in growth stocks. 

Schiehallion listed at $1 in March 2019. The flotation, which was not marketed to private investors, raised $477m (£364m).

Other SpaceX owning Baillie Gifford trusts have also benefited from the revaluation. The £12.3bn Scottish Mortgage (SMT ) flagship held a 4.8% weighting at the end of October, while £737m Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI ) held 11.9%, and Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA ) had 7.6% of its assets in the company. Their shares have also rallied since the US election.