(Credit: Timon - stock.adobe.com)

The trust currently caps private company investment at 30% of total assets at the time of purchase. However, it argues that factors outside its control, such as fluctuating public market valuations, revaluations of private holdings, and share buybacks, can push its private exposure close to or beyond that threshold without any new investment having been made.

Most recently, a significant uplift in the valuation of Elon Musk-founded SpaceX, one of the trust’s major private holdings, contributed to this pressure in December 2025.

When the cap is breached, Scottish Mortgage’s managers are prevented from participating in follow-on funding rounds for existing holdings or pursuing new private opportunities. To resolve this, the board is seeking approval for an additional private investment capacity of up to £250 million, subject to appropriate governance and oversight. This would allow managers to continue supporting private companies until the portfolio’s exposure falls naturally back below the 30% limit.

Tom Slater, manager of Scottish Mortgage, said the proposal would give the board greater flexibility to act in shareholders’ long-term interests, enabling the trust to support its private holdings “when it matters most”.