Alliance Witan (ALW)

Sector:

Investment Firms

Index:

FTSE 250

1,286.00p
   
  • Change Today:
    -4.00p
  • 52 Week High: 1,298.56
  • 52 Week Low: 1,064.00
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 400.24m
  • Volume: 369,336
  • Market Cap: £5,147m
  • Beta: 0.85

Alliance and Witan to join forces in £5bn merger

By Abigail Townsend

Date: Wednesday 26 Jun 2024

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Alliance Trust and Witan Investment Trust are to join forces, the British firms announced on Wednesday, creating a major new £5bn vehicle.
The investment trusts said the merged firm, to be called Alliance Witan, would likely qualify for inclusion in the FTSE 100.

In a statement, the London-listed firms said Alliance Witan would be a "more liquid, high-profile and cost-efficient one stop shop investment vehicle".

They continued: "With net assets of around £5bn, significant economies of scale, eligibility for FTSE 100 inclusion, powerful and well-established brand recognition on both sides and proven marketing expertise...Alliance Witan will aim to be the UK's leading global equity investment proposition."

As at 1100 BST, shares in Alliance were up 1% at 1,212.53p while Witan were ahead 3% at 270p.

Under the terms of the deal, Witan's assets will roll into Alliance in exchange for the issue of new Alliance Witan shares to Witan shareholders.

Alliance Trust's manager, Willis Towers Watson, will have overall responsibility for managing the combined assets. It will also make a "significant contribution" to help absorb transaction costs.

"Alliance Trust shareholders are not expected to suffer any net asset value dilution from the direct costs of the transactions," the firms noted.

The deal is expected to complete by the start of the fourth quarter of 2024, at the latest.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The investment trust M&A machine has been going into overdrive over the past year or so.

"Investors who want to beat the market often turn to actively-managed investment funds or trusts in the hope they will outperform. Given that these fund managers are collecting an annual fee, one would hope they can do better than the market, but Witan has found it hard to achieve this on a sustainable basis,

"Retirement plans for Witan's chief executive Andrew Bell prompted a review of the trust, and it was effectively plonked on the market."

Witan announced in March that Bell would be stepping down after 14 years with the business.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

 

Alliance Trust Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 1,286.00p
Change Today -4.00p
% Change -0.31 %
52 Week High 1,298.56
52 Week Low 1,064.00
Volume 369,336
Shares Issued 400.24m
Market Cap £5,147m
Beta 0.85

Alliance Trust Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value Not Available
Price Trend
69.44% above the market average69.44% above the market average69.44% above the market average69.44% above the market average69.44% above the market average
79.18% above the sector average79.18% above the sector average79.18% above the sector average79.18% above the sector average79.18% above the sector average
Income Not Available
Growth
26.6% below the market average26.6% below the market average26.6% below the market average26.6% below the market average26.6% below the market average
30.96% below the sector average30.96% below the sector average30.96% below the sector average30.96% below the sector average30.96% below the sector average

Alliance Trust Dividends

  Latest Previous
  3rd Interim 2nd Interim
Ex-Div 28-Nov-24 29-Aug-24
Paid 27-Dec-24 27-Sep-24
Amount 6.73p 6.62p

Trades for 06-Dec-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
15:07 62,000 @ 1,288.00p
16:35 39,746 @ 1,286.00p
16:35 29 @ 1,286.00p
16:35 872 @ 1,286.00p
16:35 125 @ 1,286.00p

Alliance Trust Key Personnel

Chair Dean Buckley

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