16th Mar 2015 07:32
LONDON (Alliance News) - Elliott Advisers (UK) Ltd on Monday said it has nominated three candidates for the board of FTSE 250-listed investment trust Alliance Trust PLC, claiming the trust has consistently underperformed and continues to make losses via its two operating subsidiaries.
Activist investor Elliott, which holds a 12% stake in the company both directly and via funds it advises, said it has nominated Anthony Brooke, Peter Chambers and Rory MacNamara to the board of the trust.
Brooke is a former financial services industry executive who worked for investment bank SG Warburg & Co in the past, Chambers is the former chief executive of Legal & General Investment Management, the investment arm of FTSE 100-listed insurer Legal & General Group PLC, and McNamara is a former executive at investment bank Morgan Grenfell.
Elliott said the decision to nominate the people to the board of Alliance Trust is the "culmination of a process where we had sought to engage with the Company on matters of corporate governance and business concern, but where we have not been met with any meaningful response which addressed those concerns substantively".
It added that in order for the trust to improve its performance, the board "would benefit from added expertise, experience, and a fresh perspective".
Elliott outlined three concerns it has about Alliance Trust. It said the trust has consistently underperformed against its sector peers and relevant benchmarks and said shareholders are racking up losses due to the continued poor performance of its two operating subsidiaries. It also raised a concern about the "high and inflexible nature of the cost of the trust's internal investment management function".
Alliance Trust has not yet responded to the Elliott Advisers announcement prior to the market open Monday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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