Laxey steps up fight against Alliance Trust

Laxey Partners has stepped up its fight against Alliance Trust, creating a shareholder action group website in a bid to build support for a discount control mechanism set at 10%.

While Laxey has already has a letter rejected trust's board on the subject, the activist investors have been contacted by a large number of private shareholders who have voiced concerns over the company's consistently wide discount, performance and voting structure. Laxey says shareholders in Alliance Trust would see an increase in the value of their shares from the introduction of the DCM. It estimates this to be approximately 12%, given the uplift to the NAV and the share price. Alliant Trust is currently trading at a 16.7% discount, which is about 5% wider than its peer group, Laxe...