Brewin Dolphin will vote against Laxey resolution

Brewin Dolphin has thrown its weight behind Alliance Trust and said it will vote against the resolution put forward by Laxey Partners to introduce a discount control mechanism.

The stockbroker, which has a 5% stake in the £2.8bn trust, last month voiced concerns over its wide discount, but said it is now less worried because of Alliance’s share buyback policy. Since last November Alliance has bought back 4.93 million shares, including 1.5 million purchased last week, in an attempt to narrow its discount. Activist investor Laxey labelled the buybacks “totally meaningless” and stressed the trust needs to introduce a regimented buyback policy when the discount exceeds 10%. John Newlands, Brewin Dolphin’s head of investment companies research, said the gro...