10th Feb 2026 14:49
(Alliance News) - Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC on Tuesday faced fresh proposals from Saba Capital Management LP, as the activist investor made another call for a shake-up of the Scottish firm's board.
The New York-based hedge fund has proposed three new directors to add to EWIT's board, with shareholders to vote on the matter at EWIT's annual general meeting.
This follows Saba's failure last month to have its resolutions approved by the EWIT board. Saba had proposed to remove all six independent directors of the FTSE 250 listing, and replace them with candidates of Saba's choosing.
Of the votes cast, 53% rejected this proposal. Majority investor Saba owns around 30% of EWIT, and excluding Saba's voting rights, 93% of shareholders were against the resolutions, EWIT reported.
At the time, EWIT Chair Jonathan Simpson-Dent said the trust would "continue to seek constructive engagement" with Saba.
"Following a year of significant and costly distraction, we are ready to return our full attention to our primary purpose: investing in innovation, transformation, and exceptional potential in a way that respects the clear wishes expressed by the majority of shareholders both last February and again today," Simpson-Dent had said.
Saba had proposed a similar shake-up about a year earlier, with EWIT one among several UK-listed funds to be targeted.
The US firm on Tuesday insisted that "a meaningful portion of shareholders remain unhappy". According to Saba, a management refresh is necessary to address a "history of underperformance combined with the board's governance and oversight failures".
The investor has proposed to appoint Gabriel Gliksberg, Michael Joseph and Jassen Trenkow to the board.
Gliksberg is the founder of ATG Capital Management, Joseph is a chartered accountant and deputy chief investment officer of Stansberry Asset Management and Trenkow is a former staffer of Barclays PLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
"To ensure the status quo does not continue, we are also calling on shareholders to vote against the re-election of the current directors," Saba said on Tuesday.
"All decisions regarding EWI's future, including the company's manager, will be made solely by the new, independent directors – not by Saba or anyone else," the investor stressed.
Among the matters with which Saba takes issue is the decision made by investment manager Baillie Gifford "to materially sell down" EWIT's shares of SpaceX Corp, as Saba sees it.
Saba called Elon Musk's aerospace firm EWIT's "crown jewel", arguing: "The recent reports of SpaceX potentially taking part in the biggest merger of all time – ahead of a potential IPO later this year – only underscore the magnitude of the lost upside."
EWIT reduced its SpaceX holding in October by around 35%, while Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust PLC cut its own stake by around 49%.
Saba has also made repeated jabs at Simpson-Dent, claiming EWIT did not properly disclose that Simpson-Dent had been a director of HomeServe Membership Ltd, which was fined GBP30.5 million by the UK Financial Conduct Authority back in 2014.
The watchdog penalised HomeServe for mis-selling insurance policies and compliance failures, issuing what was, at the time, its largest ever retail fine.
Back in January, an EWIT spokesperson said Saba intended "to prioritise its own commercial interests to the potential detriment of other shareholders."
EWIT's net asset value per share was 220.97 pence at the end of October, up 30% from 170.40 pence a year prior. This easily beat its comparator, the S&P Global Small Cap index, whose total return was 12.8% for the same period.
EWIT shares traded 1.3% higher at 236.00 pence on Tuesday afternoon in London, and have risen 24% in the past year. The stock is down 43% over the past five years.
By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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