As far as Simpson-Dent is concerned, Weinstein is trying to \u201cundermine his reputation\u201d with what he regards as unfounded accusations about one of his previous roles, at the home repair business HomeServe. Weinstein is also threatening legal action unless the trust provides more information about the timing of a sale of part of its stake in SpaceX, Elon Musk\u2019s rocket business. Saba reckons this sale cost Ewit shareholders \u00a337 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of,\u201d said Simpson-Dent.<\/p>\n
![\"SpaceX](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/0e6fd61c-5127-4678-85ae-23af0f0b14cf.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Weinstein has threatened Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust with legal action over its SpaceX stake sale<\/p>\n
CHANDAN KHANNA\/AFP<\/p>\n
In an attempt to prove his point, he took the unusual decision of holding a Q&A session with Ewit shareholders on Friday as he embarked on a last-ditch effort to get the 24,000 retail investors who own half of the investment trust to turn out to vote.<\/p>\n
Without the support of retail investors, who rarely vote at shareholder meetings, Simpson-Dent\u2019s future as chair of the trust looks bleak. \u201cHe [Weinstein] has got a good chance of taking control of this vehicle,\u201d said Simpson-Dent, who wants to warn shareholders that he would be doing so \u201con the cheap\u201d.<\/p>\n
Saba has a 30 per cent stake in Ewit and the vote is based on a simple majority of those who cast ballots. In February last year, Saba\u2019s first attempt failed after the trust rallied its retail investors to vote: aside from Saba, 64.7 per cent voted; of those, 63.8 per cent voted against.<\/p>\n
Since then, Saba\u2019s stake has increased by five percentage points \u2014 so, mathematically, the vote will be tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get 12,000 people out to vote [against Saba],\u201d said Simpson-Dent. \u201cThere\u2019s a distinct scenario that he could grab control of the trust even though we can only mobilise 10,000 rather than 12,000 people.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/cc5c4faa-24fd-4918-b4dd-a3c01961cf32.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Edinburgh offices of Baillie Gifford, which manages the trust<\/p>\n
REUTERSSELL CHEYNE\/REUTERS<\/p>\n
To understand the row, it is important to grasp how investment trusts operate. They are listed on the stock market and overseen by a board of directors, but the investments they make are decided on by fund managers. In Ewit\u2019s case, the trust is managed by Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford, known for its stock-picking in technology companies.<\/p>\n
When the investments hit rough patches, trusts can trade on the stock market at a discount to the value of their investments. It is this gap on which Saba has been capitalising \u2014 by buying trusts at discounts and making a profit as the gap narrows when performance improves. It has stakes in about 30 trusts.<\/p>\n
Another trust in which Saba has a 30 per cent stake, Herald, on Friday tried to go on the offensive by offering Weinstein an opportunity to cash in its stake through a tender offer.<\/p>\n
Simpson-Dent does not dispute the dire performance of Ewit between 2021 and 2023, when the discount at which it trades reached almost 24 per cent. He joined the board in 2020 but became chairman in 2024 when he instigated a review, after which the trust cut the number of its investments from a potential 125 to a maximum of 100. Ballie Gifford retained management of the trust but two new fund managers were appointed.<\/p>\n
The chair of Ewit uses this experience to counter Weinstein\u2019s assertions that he is merely a \u201cpawn\u201d in thrall to Baillie Gifford. On the contrary, he said, he is regarded by Baillie Gifford\u2019s managers as \u201cnot quite the devil incarnate\u201d but \u201ca very difficult person\u201d when he was conducting the review.<\/p>\n
He argues that since the review in 2024, the performance has improved and the discount is now 5.5 per cent. <\/p>\n
![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/ba973587-c224-47c2-8d35-c87524cacea8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Simpson-Dent said Ewit\u2019s performance has improved since he became chairman and began a review<\/p>\n
JOSHUA BRATT FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES<\/p>\n
Simpson-Dent is facing difficult questions from Saba about the sale of a third of Ewit\u2019s stake in SpaceX in October, just months before the rocket company was valued at $800 billion. \u201cI can understand why people are saying the optics don\u2019t look very good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Saba is asking whether this stake was sold to facilitate a merger with another trust run by Baillie Gifford, the US Growth Trust. Saba opposed this merger.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Baillie Gifford under fire again after \u00a31.5bn merger blocked by Saba<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Simpson-Dent said the sale was \u201cnothing to do with the merger\u201d and insisted the position was cut because the trust risked having too much of its investments in one company; it was going to reach above 20 per cent and even now makes up 16.5 per cent of its holdings.<\/p>\n He said he was \u201cnot allowed to talk about the valuation because we are under a shareholder agreement with SpaceX\u201d and said decisions to boost the stake in SpaceX in previous years would \u201ccomfortably outweigh the numbers that [Saba\u2019s] bandying around\u201d. He insisted: \u201cThis has been a super-successful investment where shareholders are in the money to the tune of ten times their original investment.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, SpaceX has astonished the world by winning contracts with Nasa and launching more than 10,000 satellites, massively bringing down the cost of space travel in the process. It is widely tipped to list its shares on the stock market this year in an initial public offering that could value it at $1.5 trillion<\/a> (\u00a31.1 trillion) \u2014 hence the suggestion that Ewit blundered by selling down its stake too early. <\/p>\n Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX has, says Simpson-Dent, been \u201ca super-successful investment\u201d<\/p>\n ADREES LATIF\/REUTERS<\/p>\n So strong are the attacks on Simpson-Dent that Saba has even accused him of using disappearing WhatsApp messages with his counterpart at the US Growth Trust \u2014 although he holds up his phone to show this is not the case.<\/p>\n![\"Elon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/6bdd44bf-ccfd-4ae5-81fc-4666c30f1f14.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"SpaceX](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/cfb495dd-c2b1-4c9f-9212-ed2971d5e6d7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n