How private growth compounds
From revenue growth to valuations, the data shows how Schiehallion captures private growth with public-market discipline.
Schiehallion’s performance history illustrates how long-term private growth investing translates into returns – and why those returns are best understood through underlying company progress rather than short-term market moves.
Since launch in March 2019, the trust’s net asset value (NAV) has compounded meaningfully, driven by operating progress across its private portfolio rather than shifts in valuation multiples or investor sentiment.
That dynamic was particularly evident in 2025. As of 31 December, cumulative NAV performance stood at 74.7% since inception, with NAV up 34.9% over the year. Meanwhile, the share price has risen by 41.5% since launch, reflecting the influence of broader market conditions on the listed wrapper rather than any divergence in underlying fundamentals.
Crucially, periods of strong NAV growth have coincided with execution across key holdings. By contrast, movements in the discount or premium have tended to mirror wider swings in appetite for growth assets, rather than changes in portfolio quality or company-level progress.
Taken together, the data reinforces Schiehallion’s intended role – as a way to participate in the long-term value creation of private growth companies as they scale, mature and, in some cases, transition to public markets.
Schiehallion performance
Asymmetric returns: uncapped upside, bounded downside
Private growth investing is defined by asymmetry. While downside is capped at 100% of capital invested, upside can be many multiples of the original stake.
Since inception, Schiehallion’s strongest holdings have generated extraordinary gains – SpaceX up 1,913%, Bending Spoons 905%, with ByteDance, Affirm and Tempus each delivering several hundred per cent.
A small number of exceptional outcomes therefore drive a disproportionate share of long-term returns. That imbalance – limited downside, uncapped upside – is central to how the portfolio is constructed, with every investment underwritten on the basis of meaningful multi-year compounding potential.
Portfolio fundamentals: growth with resilience
Schiehallion’s portfolio combines rapid revenue growth with increasing financial resilience. The top 10 holdings are growing revenues at an average rate of 66%, while portfolio-wide revenues are growing at 54% – well ahead of public market benchmarks.
Crucially, that growth is increasingly self-sustaining. Around two-thirds of portfolio companies are either profitable or Ebitda positive, reflecting a clear focus on business models that can scale without relying on constant external funding.
Balance sheet strength further underpins that discipline. Around 45% of holdings are already cash generative or have cash runways of more than four years, giving management teams the flexibility to invest through varying market conditions.
Valuations: opportunity in a more selective market
AI has captured a significant share of investor capital and attention, and several of Schiehallion’s holdings sit at the forefront of that innovation. But the data shows clear dispersion beneath the headlines.
While median Series C+ valuation multiples across all deals remain elevated, multiples excluding AI have reset well below the 2021 peak. For Schiehallion, that environment is constructive. It allows the team to back leading AI companies where long-term economics justify the price, while also finding compelling opportunities in other sectors where growth remains strong but competition for capital is less intense.
With valuations more differentiated and an active pipeline of opportunities, the next phase of private growth is likely to reward selectivity. In a market defined by dispersion rather than excess, the conditions are in place for the next generation of exceptional growth companies to emerge – and for long-term investors to capture that upside.
