Almost one in three UK investors plans to buy SpaceX shares when it lists on the stock market in New York, according to City research.

Elon Musk's rocket company last week outlined plans for its highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) which could see it valued at £1.3trillion in what would be the largest public float in history.

A survey of UK investors by research house Norstat found 30 per cent plan to buy the shares - with the youngest cohort most keen to pile in.

Around three-in-four, or 72 per cent, of 18 to 34-year-olds surveyed said they would buy SpaceX shares following the IPO against just 8 per cent of over-55s.

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One in five UK investors said they would allocate more than 10 per cent of their portfolio to SpaceX and 71 per cent of those who own shares in Tesla - also run by Musk - said the experience makes them more likely to back his rocket firm as well.

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Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said: 'SpaceX really dominates the conversation among the equity trading community.

'Its opening day may not be far off, but given the dynamics in play, the first few days of listing could be truly explosive.

'What the SpaceX listing is already doing, and will likely only accelerate further, is building interest in what should become one of the defining mega-themes shaping markets into late 2026 and certainly 2027, namely the space economy.

'SpaceX itself is more vision and concept than traditional valuation, which may not suit all investment funds, but for traders this could become a genuine market darling due to the relatively limited shares outstanding and the likelihood it trades with one of the highest realised volatilities among top ten S&P companies.'

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Third of UK investors eye up SpaceX shares