31st Mar 2015 08:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - Elliott Advisors (UK) Ltd Tuesday continued its war of words with Alliance Trust PLC, reiterating its proposal to appoint three new directors to the board and issuing stern words about the trust's performance, charges and dividends.
Elliott said that its "forensic" study "dispels" the trust's defence against its proposals and criticisms, adding that a recent shareholder circular issued by the trust "resorts to personal attacks in a manner unbecoming of directors of a public company".
The activist also said its resolve had been strengthened by an open letter to shareholders penned by former non-executive director Tim Ingram that was reported in the Sunday Times.
On Tuesday, Elliott claimed that its use of "authoritative third party data" shows that Alliance Trust has underperformed against competitors and benchmark indices. The activist also criticised the cost to shareholders of the management of the trust's assets, while calling for improvements to the trust's dividend policy and sustainability. In addition, Elliott said that Alliance Trust Chief Executive Katherine Garrett-Cox has been paid more than rivals despite the trust's alleged underperformance.
Elliott, which has built up a 12% stake in the trust, has nominated former SG Warburg executive Anthony Brooke, ex-CEO of Legal & General Investment Management Peter Chambers, and Rory Macnamara, previously of Morgan Grenfell, as new non-executive directors at the trust.
However, their independence has previously been called into question by Karin Forseke, who chairs Alliance Trust.
Alliance Trust shares were up 0.4% at 509.49 pence on Tuesday morning. The stock is up 6.4% so far in 2015.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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