Alliance Trust chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox today came under fresh pressure as it emerged that activist investor Laxey Partners has called for a hike in the dividend in a letter to her new chairman.
Michael Haxby, director of Laxey Partners, said such a move could stop Alliance and other investment trusts from trading “at wider discounts than their peer group”.
Haxby added in his letter to Alliance chairman Karin Forseke that paying a higher divi would provide “another alternative to share buybacks in order to ensure the share price more closely reflects the net asset value”.
Laxey Partners has been a thorn in the side of Garrett-Cox — dubbed Katherine the Great in the City.
The activist investor argues that Alliance is under-valued because of Garrett-Cox’s leadership and criticised its “poorly defined share buyback” last May, although it believes that buybacks and the divi can be “complimentary”.
It orchestrated a big protest vote at Alliance’s annual general meeting last year.
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