Activist Elliott Advisors, the largest individual shareholder in Alliance Trust PLC (ATST.L), is seeking support from fellow investors for a boardroom reshuffle following a phase of unsatisfactory engagement with executives over poor performance.
Elliott, which owns 12 percent in the investment trust manager, has nominated three new independent non-executive directors to the board ahead of the company's annual general meeting in Dundee on April 29, Elliott said in a statement.
"This initiative is the culmination of a process where we had sought to engage with the company on matters of corporate governance and business concern, but where we have not been met with any meaningful response," the investment firm said.
"We have therefore concluded that in order for Alliance Trust to improve its performance, for the benefit of all shareholders, the Board would benefit from added expertise, experience, and a fresh perspective."
Elliott's key concerns include what it describes as the "persistent underperformance" of Alliance Trust's investment portfolio against its sector peers and relevant benchmarks, the high costs of its internal investment management function and continued losses in its two operating subsidiaries.
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