Shareholders back Smithson continuation as chair re-election faces opposition

Governance concerns after U-turn

The Smithson investment trust has survived its continuation vote, but not without some shareholder dissent and opposition to the re-election of chair Diana Dyer Bartlett and other board members.

Around 19.2% of votes were cast against Dyer Bartlett's re-election at an annual general meeting on Thursday (25 April), with 9.6% of votes were cast against the trust's continuation.  According to Numis, the opposition against the chair's election and Smithson's continuation represented around 7.2% and 3.6% of share capital, respectively.  Additionally, 10.2% of votes, or 3.8% of share capital, were cast against the re-appointment of Lord St John of Bletso, who is the chair of the audit committee. Smithson investment trust performs volte-face to offer continuation vote The oppo...