REG - Alliance Witan PLC - Final Results
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RNS Number : 5764V Alliance Witan PLC 06 March 2026
Alliance Witan PLC ('the Company')
LEI: 213800SZZD4E2IOZ9W55
6 March 2026
Alliance Witan achieves 59th consecutive annual dividend rise in a challenging
year
Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2025
Highlights
1. The Company's share price was 1,282 pence (£12.82), as of 31 December
2025, representing a Share Price Total Return(1) of 5.4%.
2. The Company's Net Asset Value Total Return(1) of 4.7% trailed our
benchmark index, the MSCI All Country World Index ('MSCI ACWI'), which
returned 13.9%.
3. The Company's average discount narrowed to 4.1% from 4.7% at the end of
2024, supported by share buybacks.
4. A fourth interim dividend 7.08p per share was declared on 27 January
2026, bringing the total dividend for the year ended 31 December 2025 to
28.32p per share. This is a 6.1% increase on the previous year, the 59th
consecutive annual increase.
Dean Buckley, Chair of Alliance Witan, commented:
"A modest increase in the Company's share price, combined with our 59th
consecutive annual dividend rise, contributed to the ongoing compounding of
shareholder returns over the long term. However, 2025 proved a more
challenging year for performance relative to our benchmark, as was the case
for most active managers. While passive flows and shifting sentiment can
dominate in the short term, share prices are ultimately driven by corporate
fundamentals and valuations. On these measures, we believe our portfolio
remains strong and offers meaningful value compared with the index."
About Alliance Witan PLC
Alliance Witan aims to be a core investment that beats inflation over the long
term through a combination of capital growth and rising dividend. The Company
invests in global equities across a wide range of different sectors and
industries to achieve its objective. Alliance Witan's portfolio uses a
distinctive multi-manager approach. We blend the top stock selections of some
of the world's best active managers into a single diversified portfolio
designed to outperform the market while carefully managing risk and
volatility. Alliance Witan is an AIC Dividend Hero with 59 consecutive years
of rising dividends.
https://www.alliancewitan.com (https://www.alliancewitan.com)
For more information, please contact:
For more information, please contact:
Mark Atkinson Ursula Delaney
Senior Director
Client Management, Wealth & Retail
Willis Towers Watson Ursula Delaney
VCCP Roar
Tel: 07918 724303 Tel: 07799 068141
mark.atkinson@wtwco.com ursula.delaney@vccproar.com
1. Alternative Performance Measure. Share Price Total Return is the return to
shareholders through share price capital returns and dividends paid by the
Company and re-invested. Net Asset Value (NAV) Total Return is a measure of
the performance of the Company's NAV over a specified time period. It
combines any change in the NAV and dividends paid.
Our Performance
Financial highlights as at 31 December 2025
Net Assets Net Asset Value ('NAV') per Share
£5.1bn 1,337.2p
(2024: £5.2bn) (2024: 1,304.9p)
NAV Total Return(1) Share Price
+4.7% 1,282.0p
(2024: +13.3%) (2024: 1,244.0p)
Share Price Total Return(1) Discount to NAV(1)
+5.4% -4.1%
(2024: +14.3%) (2024: -4.7%)
Earnings per Share (Revenue) Total Dividend per Share
18.5p 28.32p
(2024: 17.3p) (2024: 26.70p)
1. Alternative Performance Measure - see page 116 of the Annual Report for
further information.
Notes:
NAV per Share including income with debt at fair value.
NAV Total Return based on NAV including income with debt at fair value and
after all costs.
Source: Morningstar and Juniper Partners Limited ('Juniper').
Chair's Statement
· Another strong year for equities
· Net Asset Value return of 4.7%
· 59th consecutive annual dividend increase
· Board fully engaged with WTW on improving performance
2025 was a demanding but ultimately rewarding year for investors in global
equities, marked by heightened geopolitical tensions, regional rotations away
from the US and intensification of the debate around the valuation of
artificial intelligence ('AI') related stocks. Against this backdrop, your
Company delivered a NAV return of 4.7% and a share price total return of 5.4%,
compared with a return of 13.9% for our benchmark, the MSCI All Country World
Index ('MSCI ACWI'), in sterling terms.
This represents a second year in which we have not fully kept up with
extremely strong index returns and that has negatively impacted longer term
relative returns. Nevertheless, we still have a strong track record of
delivering attractive absolute returns over the long term and a rising
dividend, while maintaining a disciplined approach to diversification and risk
management. Your Board recognises that relative underperformance is
disappointing and is fully engaged with the Investment Manager on seeking to
improve performance for shareholders over the long term.
It is perhaps worth noting that many active global managers have struggled to
outperform concentrated markets, which have been driven to a large extent by
passive money flows and sentiment around AI. Fundamentals and valuations
ultimately drive share prices, and it is our belief that our portfolio is
strong on both counts and represents a significant store of value relative to
that of the index. You can read a more detailed explanation of performance in
the Investment Manager's commentary starting on page 7 of the Annual Report.
The Board remains confident that our global multi-manager investment
proposition will deliver strong, above benchmark returns to shareholders in
the long run.
Dividend increased for the 59(th) consecutive year
The Board declared a fourth interim dividend of 7.08p per share on 27 January
2026, resulting in a full year dividend of 28.32p, an increase of 6.1% on the
prior year.
2025's increase marks the 59th consecutive annual rise, which is one of the
longest track records in the investment trust industry. Dividends are well
supported by revenue and reserves, and the Board is confident annual dividend
increases can continue well into the future.
Narrowing discount
The Company's shares continued to trade at a relatively modest discount to NAV
during the year, narrower than the averages seen across much of the investment
trust sector, which continues to trade on unusually wide discounts by
historical standards. The enlarged size of the Company, now a FTSE 100 company
after the combination with Witan in October 2024, enhances liquidity and
provides a strong platform from which to grow the shareholder base.
Your Board remains committed to maintaining the share price trading close to
NAV. We will continue to use share buybacks as appropriate to support the
management of the discount. During 2025, the Company bought back 17.8 million
shares (4.7% of shares in issue), versus 4.7 million repurchased in 2024.
These share repurchases were modestly accretive to shareholder returns. The
shares bought back during the year were placed in Treasury and can be reissued
by the Company at a premium to estimated NAV when there is market demand.
Raising our profile
Share repurchases are one of the tools available to the Board to keep the
discount stable. Effective promotion is another, and I am pleased to report
that the Company won four awards for marketing in 2025, including two from the
Association of Investment Companies for shareholder communications, best
website and best generalist annual report. The other two were from the
Financial Services Forum for "Most Effective Integrated B2C Campaign" and the
Gramercy Institute for our website. While investment performance will
ultimately determine the attractiveness of our shares, good marketing can help
build familiarity and confidence in our proposition.
Board changes
As announced on 16 July 2025 and mentioned in my Chair's Interim Statement,
Vicky Hastings stepped down as a Director of the Company with effect from 31
July 2025. In addition, and as announced on 11 September 2025, Andrew Ross
stepped down as a Director of the Company with effect from 31 December 2025.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank both Vicky and Andrew for their
significant contributions to the Company.
Annual General Meeting
The Board looks forward to being able to meet shareholders again at this
year's Annual General Meeting ('AGM'), which will be held on Wednesday, 29
April 2026 at 3.00pm at the office of our Investment Manager: WTW, 51 Lime
Street, London, EC3M 7DQ.
If you wish to attend the AGM in person, please register on our website -
https://www.alliancewitan.com/investor-information/events
(https://www.alliancewitan.com/investor-information/events) and we ask that
you please bring a form of photo identification with you to gain entry to the
venue. For those shareholders who are not able to attend in person, we will be
live streaming the event. As well as the formal business of the meeting, there
will be an investor forum afterwards featuring two of our Stock Pickers,
Artisan Partners and Brown Advisory, as well as members of WTW's investment
team. There will be another in-person investor forum in Scotland in the
autumn. In accordance with our plan to alternate the location of the AGM each
year between Scotland and London, the AGM will return to Dundee in 2027.
The Board would strongly encourage shareholders to use the opportunity to have
their say and use their vote at the AGM. Further information on the
arrangements for the AGM, including information on how to vote either directly
through the Registrar or though different platforms, is on pages 124 and 135
of the Annual Report.
Keep up to date
The Company's website provides timely updates to shareholders. Therefore, I
would encourage you to visit the website which contains a vast amount of
information on investment performance, details of shareholder meetings and
investor forums, monthly factsheets, quarterly newsletters, and Stock Picker
updates, as well as the Annual and Interim Reports. Since last year, we have
also added a new section of educational materials designed to help build
confidence among novice investors. To the same end, we will also be
participating in the government's marketing campaign to persuade more people
in the UK to move beyond cash savings into investing. The QR codes on this
page will take you directly to the appropriate section on the website, where
you can also subscribe to receive these updates direct to your email.
As always, the Board welcomes communication from shareholders and I can be
contacted through Juniper, the Company Secretary, at
investor@alliancewitan.com.
Outlook
At the start of 2026, equity markets were already unsettled by the potentially
disruptive impact of AI on various industries, such as software. And, at the
time of writing, events in the Middle East have further clouded the outlook
for share prices. In the short-term, our investment manager expects to see a
continued period of volatility as markets react to developments. But the
longer-term impact will depend on the duration and resolution of the conflict.
Alliance Witan's scale, diversified multi‑manager structure, active discount
management and track record of delivering a growing dividend give your Board
confidence that the Company is well placed to continue meeting its objective
of delivering a real return for shareholders over the long term. On behalf of
the Board, I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support,
and our Investment Manager, Stock Pickers and advisers for their hard work
through another challenging year in global markets. I look forward to meeting
as many of you as possible at the AGM in London or the next investor forum in
Scotland.
Dean Buckley
Chair
5 March 2026
Investment Manager's Report
Another strong year for stock markets
Despite disruption to world trade from tariffs and a tumultuous geopolitical
backdrop, global equity markets posted a third consecutive year of
double-digit gains in 2025, supported by resilient economic growth and rising
corporate earnings. Unlike in previous years, market performance was not led
by the US; several other large markets, including the UK and Europe, saw even
stronger gains. After a decade in the doldrums, emerging markets also
outperformed the US, with stand-out gains in South Korea.
The underperformance of the US versus the rest of the world, exacerbated for
sterling investors by the weakness of the dollar, signalled growing caution
about high US valuations, the concentration of returns in mega-cap technology
stocks and the unpredictability of economic and foreign policy under President
Trump.
US shows remarkable resilience
Even so, the US still managed a 10% gain in sterling. The US government may
have experienced its longest shutdown on record last year, but it failed to
halt the domestic economy or the advance of US equities, which still account
for over 60% of global stock market capitalisation.
Returns by global sector were led by communication services, where companies
such as Reddit and Spotify reside, followed by materials stocks, including
mining companies, financials, and technology stocks such as Nvidia. Real
estate, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples stocks were the laggards.
In terms of returns by style, growth and value stocks performed equally well
globally but in the US growth outperformed value and vice versa outside the
US. Quality stocks continued to be ignored, despite strong fundamentals.
Portfolio lags concentrated index
Our portfolio's NAV increased by 4.7%. Share price returns were slightly
higher at 5.4%, due to a narrowing of the discount, thus continuing to
compound long term shareholder returns, albeit at a slower pace than the
previous two years. Cumulative shareholder returns have been 59% over the last
five years and 124% since the adoption of our multi-manager investment
strategy in April 2017. These numbers are way ahead of inflation, and our NAV
performance over three and five years is better than the average of our peers
in the AIC global sector (44% and 59% respectively versus 37% and 36% for the
peer group).
It's dangerous to pay too much attention to short term performance versus the
index, in case it impairs our focus on delivering long‑term real,
inflation-adjusted returns. Still, as an active manager, it's important to
acknowledge that in 2025 both NAV and share price returns were significantly
behind the return of our benchmark index, the MSCI ACWI, which gained 13.9%.
We focus on substance not speculation
Naturally, we would have preferred to keep pace with the index's outstanding
performance. But, as we and others have highlighted before, the unusual
concentration of a few US mega-cap stocks in the index has created distortions
that could rapidly correct if conditions change.
History shows market reversals can often be sudden, so rather than chase short
term winners, we believe it's prudent to stay focused on investing in
high-quality, yet undervalued, companies, diversified by country, sector and
investment style. Not all of them have been recognised as such by the market
yet, but we're confident that their strong fundamental attributes will be
rewarded by higher share prices in the long run.
AI boom was a key driver of market returns
Although we are convinced that AI will result in profound change in the
business world, last year's underperformance versus the index in part
reflected a relative lack of exposure to the cyclical and, in many cases,
speculative stocks that rose the most. These included raw material stocks and
some risky AI-related businesses, many of which have unproven business models.
For example, Palantir Technologies, which started out in 2008 as a defence
contractor but now emphasises AI technology, has only ever had one full year
of profitability. Yet its share price more than doubled last year. The company
may well be the "next big thing", warranting the share price surge, but as the
FT recently pointed out, its anticipated growth is "the stuff of dreams" (FT
Aug 25, 2025).
We were also underweight banks, such as US giants JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs,
as well as some of their European counterparts, which performed very well, due
to a range of factors including the normalisation of interest rates which
allowed them to earn more on the wider margin between borrowing and lending.
While some may consider our lighter position in bank stocks a missed
opportunity during their rally, we maintained this stance because banks tend
to be volatile and unpredictable over the long run.
Contribution analysis
Contribution to Return year to 31 December 2025 %
Benchmark Total Return 13.9
Asset Allocation 0.1
Stock Selection -8.9
Gearing and Cash 0.1
Investment Manager Impact -8.8
Portfolio Total Return 5.1
Share Buybacks 0.2
Fees/Expenses -0.5
NAV inc Income, Debt at Par 4.8
Change in Fair Value of Debt -0.1
NAV inc Income, Debt at Fair Value 4.7
Change in Discount 0.7
Total Shareholder Return 5.4
Source: Performance and attribution data sourced from WTW, Juniper, MSCI Inc,
FactSet and Morningstar as at 31 December 2025. Percentages may not add due to
rounding.
Portfolio had stock specific challenges
Diageo, the UK drinks company, was a significant drag on performance. Indeed,
it was the single biggest detractor.
Owned by Veritas and Metropolis, Diageo's share price fell by more 30% amid a
range of concerns including the impact of tariffs and softer global spirits'
demand. While some argue that the company's difficulties are structural,
including declining consumption as Gen Z drink less than previous generations,
our Stock Pickers believe they are largely cyclical.
Veritas and Metropolis argue that the sell-off is overdone and that Diageo's
share price will eventually recover and catch up with the business' strong
fundamentals, which include world-class brands and broad geographic
diversification.
They believe the recent appointment of Sir Dave Lewis as CEO, effective from 1
January 2026, is a positive development for the company, and Metropolis argues
that his recent decision to cut the dividend will enable investment in
additional capacity.
In the healthcare sector, UnitedHealth suffered a deep drawdown and only
partial recovery into the year-end, although we continued to hold the stock in
the expectation that it will recover in the long run. Novo Nordisk, the Danish
weight loss drugs company, was another detractor. It was sold as competitive
pressures on the company increased.
Top five stock contributors to performance
Stock Sector Country Average Active Weight (%) Total Return in Sterling (%) Attribution Effect Relative to Benchmark (%)
Apple Information Technology United States -4.1 1.4 0.5
Ryanair Industrials Ireland 0.8 32.0 0.3
Safran Industrials France 0.8 49.3 0.3
Taiwan Semiconductor Information Technology Taiwan 0.6 41.9 0.3
NRG Energy Utilities United States 0.5 65.9 0.2
Bottom five stock detractors to performance
Stock Sector Country Average Active Weight (%) Total Return in Sterling (%) Attribution Effect Relative to Benchmark (%)
Diageo Consumer Staples United Kingdon 1.4 -34.2 -0.8
NVIDIA Information Technology United States -3.1 29.3 -0.5
Broadcom Information Technology United States -1.4 39.9 -0.4
Alphabet Communication Services United States -0.9 54.1 -0.4
ICON Industrials Ireland 0.2 -43.5 -0.3
Source: WTW.
The tables above illustrate the top five contributors and detractors to
returns relative to benchmark in 2025. It aims to explain at a stock level
which companies drove relative returns. For example, the Alliance Witan
portfolio was underweight relative to benchmark in NVIDIA, Broadcom and
Alphabet. These stocks had very strong returns, which hurt our portfolio's
relative performance. Conversely, being underweight Apple helped our relative
performance given the stock was held in the benchmark but underperformed the
index return over the year. Our overweight positions in Ryanair, Safran,
Taiwan Semiconductor and NRG Energy contributed positively to relative returns
given their strong performance. The average active weight is the arithmetic
simple average weight of the stock in the portfolio minus the arithmetic
simple average weight of the stock in the benchmark over the period.
Dalton added most value
The Stock Picker that added the most value during 2025 was Dalton, our Japan
specialist, though Artisan, which joined the line up in September, also made a
good start. The Japanese stock market had a very strong year in 2025,
outperforming global equities, as the domestic economy continued to transition
from an extended period of deflation to one of stronger demand and mild
inflation. Dalton's successful stock picks included Fuji Media Holdings, a
major Japanese broadcaster whose share price more than doubled due to the
intervention of activist shareholders, including Dalton, and subsequent
governance changes which raised expectations that the company will unlock
value and become more shareholder friendly. Dalton has selective investments
in South Korea and its stake in Samsung Electronics, also owned by Artisan,
was another winning position, with the share price rising 118% on the back of
explosive demand for memory chips fuelled by the AI boom.
GQG was biggest detractor
Most of the other Stock Pickers made either neutral or negative contributions
to portfolio performance, although the biggest drag on relative returns was
GQG. It moved out of many highly priced AI-related names in favour of more
defensive businesses, fearing a repeat of the dot.com crash in the early
noughties. GQG says that the market appears to be betting on a perpetual AI
boom, but its research detected signs of saturation, oversupply, and
unsustainable earnings dynamics. Nevertheless, with many AI-related stocks
continuing to have strong momentum through much of the year, GQG's performance
suffered a sharp reversal.
As the year ended, GQG's bearish stance on the valuations of AI stocks was
gaining more supporters, with the Bank of England among others joining in with
warnings about the potential for a sharp market correction. It seems that
investors are dividing between those at one extreme who see the sky as the
limit and those at the other who see extremely expensive stocks on the brink
of a collapse. We believe the truth is probably somewhere in between,
expressed in the portfolio through selective exposure to what our Stock
Pickers believe are the most promising AI-related businesses. We own five of
the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, and they remain an important part of our
portfolio, but our exposure is not as concentrated as that of the MSCI ACWI
because our Stock Pickers are also finding attractive companies that the
market has left behind. Some of these companies have suffered from not being
tied to the AI narrative, like Unilever, while the share prices of others have
been disproportionately punished by the market's assumption that their
business models will be badly damaged by AI. Companies in the latter category
include Salesforce and the LSE Group. Our Stock Pickers believe the market is
extrapolating the AI threat beyond what current fundamentals and competitive
positioning justify, though in both cases AI has become a convenient narrative
hook for investors to derate the stocks.
Portfolio positioning: Two Stock Picker changes
As well as adding Artisan in place of ARGA, we substituted Brown Advisory for
SGA. These swaps weren't directly related to short‑term performance, and the
changes left the balance of the portfolio broadly unchanged in terms of style
exposures. ARGA had some operational issues, and SGA has been going through
some personnel changes, which reduced our conviction in the two Stock Pickers.
Brown Advisory has the advantage of bringing more high-quality companies to
the portfolio, while Artisan's bias to cheaper US stocks adds greater
diversification in a concentrated market dominated by large, expensive growth
stocks.
Apart from these two Stock Picker changes, Stock Picker weights were left
largely unchanged, although we did make some small adjustments to Stock Picker
allocations at the start of 2026 to ensure the portfolio remained balanced in
terms of country and style exposures.
During 2025, the Stock Pickers' decisions, especially GQG's move into more
defensive companies, meant that the portfolio became more underweight US
large-cap technology and more overweight the proven, low-risk companies that
the Stock Pickers believe are significantly undervalued (see table below
showing the largest purchases and sales).
So, in January and February of 2026, to ensure stock selection remains the key
driver of returns rather than style biases, we took some money away from
Veritas, GQG and Metropolis, and gave it to Jennison, Sands, Lyrical and
Vulcan. We also increased gross gearing slightly, from 8.6% to 9.3%. Together,
these reallocations of capital and higher gearing should, at the margin, help
to increase the portfolio's sensitivity to the market, without dramatically
changing the shape of the portfolio.
Our Stock Pickers are all highly skilled veterans of multiple market cycles
and are consistently executing their long-term strategies in the way that we
expect. Indeed, their holdings have generally continued to see good
fundamental growth, despite their share price performance lagging the
benchmark in aggregate. Last year, the portfolio's return was mainly driven by
growth in company fundamentals (as measured by book value). However, despite
that improvement, the market applied a lower valuation multiple (i.e.
investors were not willing to pay a higher price relative to the stronger
fundamentals).
By contrast, the benchmark's return came from a different mix. Its companies,
in aggregate, experienced less growth in book value. Yet their share prices
rose because investors were willing to pay a higher valuation multiple.
This matters because over the long term, share prices are ultimately supported
by growth in underlying company fundamentals, not by changes in market
sentiment. While valuation multiples can expand or contract in the short term,
sustained growth in book value and business strength is what tends to drive
durable long-term returns, and the Alliance Witan portfolio has performed
better on this basis.
Strong portfolio fundamentals should deliver improved share price returns
The portfolio contains higher quality companies than the index, demonstrated
by its superior return on equity, 16.4% vs 12.2% and it is more attractive in
terms of valuation, with a 1-year forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5x
versus 21.3x. It is also worth noting that the last time we had an unusual
12-month period like 2025, when most of the stock pickers underperformed
despite having different investment styles, was in 2021/2. This was followed
by a very strong 18-month period of portfolio outperformance.
Top 10 purchases and sales
Top 10 purchases Value £m Top 10 sales Value £m
London Stock Exchange 66.6 Visa 76.3
Unilever 42.0 Amazon 69.4
Mastercard 40.3 Eli Lilly 66.6
Cigna 39.7 Novo Nordisk 60.7
Deutsche Boerse 38.5 Netflix 52.5
Everest Group 38.4 Meta 49.1
Progressive 37.9 Yum! Brands 42.9
Exelon 37.8 Aon 41.4
ICICI Bank 37.4 NVIDIA 40.7
Roche 36.5 Synopsys 37.5
Source: Juniper.
The purchases and sales are calculated by taking the net value of all
transactions (buy and sells) for each holding held within the portfolio over
the period.
As the year began, there were signs that the dominance of technology stocks
was beginning to fade. Valuations and fiscal and monetary stimulus were
pointing towards a wider set of opportunities across regions and sectors (see
Hidden Gems: stocks with high return potential below for a list of
underappreciated companies in our portfolio). While the portfolio continues to
have selective exposure to some of last year's winning themes, including AI,
if this broadening out of market returns includes quality names which have
been largely ignored, it should benefit our investment approach, which focuses
on fundamental based stock selection across regions and investment styles
rather than macroeconomic considerations or fashionable investment themes. Of
course, the conflict in the Middle East introduces an element of uncertainty,
but if it proves short lived it is unlikely to threaten the relatively benign
economic backdrop. Increased volatility and wider dispersion of valuations
between stocks may also increase the opportunity for skilled active managers
to add value. We are confident that our high conviction but diversified
approach to stock picking will win in the long run, even if that means we may
trail a heavily concentrated index in the shorter term.
Craig Baker, Stuart Gray, Mark Davis
Willis Towers Watson
Investment Manager
Hidden gems: stock picks with high potential
We asked our Stock Pickers for examples of strong but underappreciated
companies in the portfolio
GQG highlighted American Electric Power ('AEP'), a utility holding company
that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in eleven US states.
AEP is transitioning its power generation portfolio from coal to renewables
including natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind and hydro. This ongoing shift to
decarbonisation is expected to result in consistent and low-risk growth
opportunities for multiple years. On the demand side, growth continues to be
driven by large-load customers including data centre operators. As GQG
explains, "AEP can deliver high-single digit annualised EPS growth during the
next three years, in our opinion, while the stock also offers a dividend yield
of 3.3%".
Metropolis selected Comcast, explaining that over the last five years,
Comcast's forward Price/ Earnings ratio has compressed from 18x to 7x, making
it one of the 10 cheapest stocks in the S&P 500 index. Over the same
period, Comcast's revenue has grown by 20%. In 2025, the stock price dropped
by 20% whilst the S&P 500 grew by almost 20%. As Metropolis explains, "The
market is valuing Comcast for permanent decline, but the fundamentals remain
robust".
Vulcan Partners backs Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. ('Ryan Speciality'), a
commercial Excess and Surplus ('E&S') insurance broker with a delegated
authority business.
The stock has recently been weighed down by negative industry sentiment
regarding a soft pricing cycle in commercial property. However, Vulcan
believes this is a short-term headwind rather than a structural flaw. The
E&S market has grown at an 11% compound annual growth rate over the past
25 years while the admitted market has grown at 4%. As one of three dominant
players in the E&S brokerage market, Ryan Specialty is a primary
beneficiary of the ongoing migration of premiums to the E&S sector.
The company's stable margins and leading market position suggests the share
price is trading well below Vulcan's estimate of intrinsic value.
Veritas selected Amadeus IT Holding, the largest global travel IT-solutions
provider with three businesses; distribution of airline tickets, passenger
service systems and hospitality (reservation systems for hotels). The company
has leading market shares (approximately 50%) in its largest two businesses.
The opportunity in the company has been driven by perceived disintermediation
threats (technology).
As Veritas explains "We believe the company can grow mid/high single digit
over the medium term (6-9% company target (2023-2026)) with a positive mix
shift in margins helping to deliver faster profit growth. The completion of a
large‑scale technology deployment project should also benefit from a free
cash flow growth perspective too".
Our Japan specialist, Dalton's best stocks include Macnica Holdings.
Macnica Holdings is executing well operationally across its two core
businesses - semiconductors and network/cybersecurity - yet its share price
does not fully reflect the company's underlying earnings power. In the
semiconductor business, the company continues to gain market share by
leveraging deep technical capabilities and strong supplier relationships, even
amid cyclical weakness in industrial demand. Meanwhile, the network and
cybersecurity segment has emerged as a structurally higher-margin growth
engine, benefiting from secular trends such as "zero-trust adoption", the
assumption that cyber breaches are inevitable, and rising cybersecurity
requirements.
Brown Advisory highlighted the company Experian, a UK-listed, leading global
data and analytics business which operates a credit bureau at its core. The US
consumer credit bureau market is effectively an oligopoly, with three main
players of which Experian is the largest. Barriers to entry are extremely high
as replicating the data is nearly impossible in terms of scale, depth,
exclusivity and quality. Businesses run on trusted, verified and accurate data
and Experian has some of the best. Experian's strategy over the past decade
has been to take its core consumer credit information (on >1.2bn people
globally), and cross sell it into adjacent verticals and market segments, it
has done this very effectively in areas such as health, marketing and auto,
and in doing so significantly expanded its total addressable market. "We
believe there is more to go in capturing this wider market opportunity given
the strength, depth and uniqueness of the data they own, and corresponding
mission critical insights into lending decisions this can deliver for their
customers".
Lyrical selected AerCap, the world's largest aircraft leasing company, owning
over 1,500 aircrafts that it leases to airlines globally. The business model
is straightforward: AerCap buys planes, leases them to airlines on long-term
contracts - typically 8 to 10 years - and then sells them into the secondary
market. It is a high-quality business with double-digit returns on equity.
Looking forward, AerCap's prospects continue to be strong. The market for
aircraft has shifted from an extreme oversupply of planes during the peak of
COVID to an undersupply currently. This undersupply is expected to remain
tight through the end of the decade, driven by production problems and delays.
Boeing and Airbus airplane deliveries are still running lower than pre‑COVID
levels. Tight supply means better lease rates for AerCap, leading to higher
earnings and significant cash flow generation. This cash is being returned to
shareholders via share repurchase. In just the past three years, AerCap has
reduced its share count by 31%.
Artisan, one of the newest additions to our Stock Picker line up selected
Universal Music Group ('UMG'), which owns the most valuable music catalogue
globally and consistently represents seven to nine of the top 10 artists,
making its content essential to streaming platforms and giving it meaningful
leverage in pricing and contract negotiations.
As Artisan explained "We believe the business has a long runway for revenue
growth from a combination of pricing power and subscriber growth, as well as
margin expansion potential. Subscription revenue is growing organically at
roughly 8-9% before any Streaming 2.0 benefits. Streaming 2.0 refers to the
industry shift from maximizing subscriber numbers to increasing monetisation
per subscriber through wholesale price increases and premium tiers, and UMG
has signed new agreements with three of the four major streaming platforms,
including YouTube. As these initiatives roll out over the next few years,
margins and earnings should accelerate from an already solid base".
EdgePoint selected two companies for inclusion in Hidden Gems, Techtronic
Industries Co. Ltd. a global leader in power tools, and Revvity Inc., a life
sciences tools and diagnostics company.
Techtronic Industries is anchored by MILWAUKEE, the number one professional
power tool brand worldwide, and RYOBI, the leading DIY brand. EdgePoint
believe the company is underappreciated today as investor sentiment has been
weighed down by concerns around a US housing slowdown, softer DIY demand, and
tariff risk tied to China-based manufacturing. As the industry continues its
transition to cordless tools, MILWAUKEE's professional dominance expands, and
outdoor power equipment electrification accelerates, Techtronic Industries
should deliver sustained growth and margin expansion.
Revvity is undergoing a meaningful transformation toward higher-margin
software and recurring revenue. The stock is currently underappreciated due to
China-related life sciences funding headwinds and a cyclical pullback in
biotech spending. As China demand normalizes, software penetration increases,
and newborn screening programs expand globally, Revvity should see improved
earnings visibility and stronger long-term growth.
The securities referred to above represent the views of the underlying
managers and are not stock recommendations.
Summary of Portfolio
As at 31 December 2025
A full list of the Company's Investment Portfolio can be found on the
Company's website, www.alliancewitan.com (http://www.alliancewitan.com)
Top 20 holdings
Name £m %
Microsoft 238.5 4.4
Alphabet 161.3 2.9
Amazon 119.3 2.2
Mastercard 111.0 2.0
Taiwan Semiconductor 104.9 1.9
Visa 84.1 1.5
Unilever 76.0 1.4
Salesforce 75.8 1.4
UnitedHealth Group 72.0 1.3
Philip Morris 70.6 1.3
London Stock Exchange 67.2 1.2
Diageo 64.8 1.2
Everest Group 63.1 1.2
Progressive 62.3 1.1
NVIDIA 61.7 1.1
Samsung Electronics 54.9 1.0
HCA Healthcare 50.4 0.9
Safran 49.7 0.9
Ashtead Group 49.4 0.9
Cigna 47.9 0.9
The 20 largest stock positions, given as a percentage of the total assets.
Each Stock Picker selects up to 20 stocks.*
Top 20 holdings 30.7%
Top 10 holdings 20.3%
* Apart from GQG Partners, which also manages a dedicated emerging markets
mandate with up to 60 stocks.
Dividend
We have paid our shareholders a rising dividend for 59 consecutive years, a
track record of which we are extremely proud. It makes us an AIC 'Dividend
Hero'.
We seek to pay a rising dividend every year, subject to the Company's
financial position. Four quarterly payments are made in June, September,
December, and March. Shareholders are given the opportunity every year to
approve the Company's dividend policy.
While shareholders are not asked to approve a final dividend, given the timing
of the payment of the quarterly interim payments, each year they are given the
opportunity to share their views when they are asked to approve the Company's
Dividend Policy.
Increased dividend
The Company has increased its total dividend for the year ended 31 December
2025 to 28.32p per ordinary share (2024: 26.70p), a 6.1% increase on the
previous year.
Dividend 2025 (p) 2024 (p) % increase
1(st) Interim 7.08 6.62 6.9%
2(nd) Interim 7.08 6.62 6.9%
3(rd) Interim 7.08 6.73 5.2%
4(th) Interim 7.08 6.73 5.2%
Reserves
It is the Board's intention to utilise distributable reserves as well as
portfolio income to fund dividend payments. Further details of the dividend
payments for the year to 31 December 2025 and information on distributable
reserves can be found in notes 7 and 2(b)(xi) of the Financial Statements,
respectively.
Ongoing Charges and Discount
Ongoing charges(1)
The Company's ongoing charges ratio ('OCR') decreased to 0.47% (2024: 0.56%)
reflecting the management fee waiver negotiated with the Investment Manager in
respect of its contribution to the costs of the Company's combination with
Witan (excluding the management fee waiver, the OCR was 0.59%). Total
administrative expenses were £6.1m (2024: £3.9m) and investment management
expenses were £18.5m (2024: £18.4m). Further details of the Company's
expenses are provided in note 4 of the Financial Statements. The Company's
costs remain competitive for an actively managed multi-manager global equity
strategy. The chart below shows how the Company's ongoing charges compared to
the other constituents of the AIC Global Sector.
Maintaining a stable discount(1)
One of the Company's strategic objectives is to maintain the share price
trading close to NAV.
The Company has the authority to buy back its own shares in the market if the
discount is widening and to hold these shares in Treasury.
During the year under review, the Company's share price traded at an average
discount of 4.8% (2024: 4.7%). As at 31 December 2025, the Company's share
price discount was 4.1% (2024: 4.7%). The average discount (unweighted) for
the AIC Global Sector was 7.0%.
Share buybacks
The Company bought back 4.7%* (2024: 1.2%) of its issued share capital during
the year, purchasing 17,837,838 shares which were placed in Treasury. The
total cost of the share buybacks was £223.6m (2024: £57.0m). The weighted
average discount of shares bought back in the year was 5.1%. Share buybacks
contributed a total of 0.2% to the Company's NAV performance in the year.
1. Alternative Performance Measure - see page 116 of the Annual Report for
details.
* Percentage based on the Company's issued share capital (excluding shares
held in Treasury) as at 31 December 2025.
What We Do
How WTW manages the portfolio
WTW as Investment Manager has overall responsibility for managing the
Company's portfolio. It is the Investment Manager's job to select a diverse
team of expert Stock Pickers, each of whom invest in a customised selection of
10-20(1) of their 'best ideas'. WTW then allocates capital to them, relative
to the risks the Stock Picker represents. For example, small-cap stocks are
typically more risky than large-cap stocks, so on average a small-cap
specialist would tend to receive less capital than a Stock Picker who focuses
on large-cap stocks. However, the allocations do not remain static; WTW keeps
them under constant review and varies them over time according to market
conditions, with the goal of keeping exposures to different parts of global
stock markets well balanced.
Stock Pickers are encouraged to ignore the benchmark and only buy a small
number of stocks in which they have strong conviction, while WTW manages risk
through the Stock Picker allocations. On their own, each of the Stock Picker's
high-conviction mandates has the potential to perform well. This is supported
by WTW's experience of managing high-conviction portfolios and academic
evidence(2). But concentrated selections of stocks can be volatile and risky,
so WTW mitigates these dangers by blending Stock Pickers with complementary
investment approaches or styles, which can be expected to perform differently
in different market conditions. This smooths out the peaks and troughs of
performance associated with concentrated single-manager strategies.
Several of the Stock Pickers in the current portfolio have been with the
Investment Manager since inception of the multi-manager strategy, though WTW
does actively monitor and rearrange the line-up where necessary. Information
on all the Stock Pickers as at 31 December 2025 can be found on page 16 of the
Annual Report.
WTW invests a lot of time and effort on identifying skilled Stock Pickers for
the Company's portfolio, undertaking extensive qualitative and quantitative
analysis. This due diligence process focuses on:
· The investment processes, resources and decision-making that make up
the Stock Picker's competitive advantage;
· The culture and alignment of the organisation that leads to
sustainability of that competitive advantage;
· The Stock Pickers' approach to responsible investment. WTW aims to
appoint Stock Pickers who actively engage with the companies in which they
invest and have an effective voting policy. When necessary, WTW challenges the
Stock Pickers and guide them towards better practices; and
· The operational infrastructure that minimises risk from a compliance,
regulatory and operational perspective.
1. Apart from GQG Partners, which also manage a dedicated emerging markets
mandate with up to 60 stocks.
2. Sebastian & Attaluri, Conviction in Equity Investing, The Journal of
Portfolio Management, Summer 2014.
WTW's views are formed over extended periods from multiple interactions with
the Stock Pickers, including regular meetings. WTW looks beyond past
performance numbers to try to understand the 'competitive edge'. This involves
examining and interrogating processes for selecting stocks, adherence to these
processes through different market conditions, team dynamics, training and
experience. Performance track records are just a single data point, and,
without the context of the additional information, they are unlikely to
persuade WTW that a Stock Picker is skilled.
Once selected, the Investment Manager tends to form long-term partnerships
with the Stock Pickers, generally only taking them out of the portfolio if
something fundamental changes, such as the departure of a key individual from
the business or a change in business strategy or fortunes. With highly active,
concentrated portfolios, periods of short-term underperformance are to be
expected and are not a reason to doubt a Stock Picker if they are adhering to
their philosophy and process. WTW does, however, keep a constant eye out for
talent and may bring new Stock Pickers into the portfolio at the expense of an
incumbent if they are a better fit.
Responsible Investment
WTW believes that environmental, social and governance ('ESG') factors have
the potential to impact financial risk and return. As long-term investors, WTW
aims to incorporate these factors into its investment process, including
assessing how Stock Pickers evaluate ESG risk in their decisions over what
stocks to purchase. Climate change poses potential significant risks to
investment returns from many companies, which is why both WTW and the Company
have stated an intention to manage the assets with a goal of achieving Net
Zero greenhouse gas emissions from the portfolio by 2050. As the Company
explained in the ESG policy document it published last year, it no longer has
a shorter-term 2030 portfolio emissions goal. Real world emission reduction
progress has been mixed to date, and the Company wishes to give the Stock
Pickers flexibility to invest in higher emitting sectors that still have an
important role to play in the transition (e.g. energy, materials, utilities).
The Company also believes that engagement with high emitters is typically more
effective than divestment in supporting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
In 2025, there was a decrease in the portfolio's weighted average carbon
intensity (which measures carbon emissions as a proportion of revenue) from
117.9tCO2e/$M sales to 95.6tCO2e/$M. WTW monitor progress against the
Company's Net Zero goal, and the Stock Pickers and EOS at Federated Hermes
('EOS') continue to engage with the companies in the portfolio on climate
related issues. More information on this can be found in our ESG Policy and
the Alliance Witan TCFD report on the Company's website.
Progress towards Net Zero will not be linear. Emissions from the portfolio are
dependent on holdings, which can change from year to year as the Stock Pickers
seek value for investors. If companies are perceived as being at higher
financial risk by being slow to adapt to a Net Zero world, WTW expect Stock
Pickers to use stewardship, such as voting and engagement, to encourage
positive changes to business practices. WTW believe this is preferable to
excluding companies from the portfolio, since exclusion merely passes the
responsibility of ownership to other investors who may be less scrupulous
about adherence to ESG standards or regulation.
As well as engaging with companies on climate change, the Stock Pickers,
together with stewardship provider EOS, focused on a wide range of other
issues last year. Overall, EOS engaged with 93 companies in the portfolio on
489 issues and objectives throughout the year. Key areas of engagement
included board effectiveness, climate change, human and labour rights and
human capital, biodiversity and nature, business purpose, strategy and
policies, digital rights and AI. Of these engagements, the environmental
category accounted for 29% of the total number of engagements, with 64% of
environmental engagements relating to climate change. Meanwhile the Stock
Pickers cast votes at 3,803 resolutions in 2025. Of these resolutions, they
voted against company management on 369 and abstained from voting on 66
occasions.
How We Manage Our Risks
In order to monitor and manage risks facing the Company, the Board maintains
and regularly reviews a risk register and heat map. The risk register details
all principal and emerging risks thought to face the Company at any given
time. The principal risks facing the Company, as determined by the Board, are
Investment, Operational and Legal and Regulatory Non-Compliance.
As part of its review process, the Board considers input on the principal and
emerging risks facing the Company from its key service providers, WTW and
Juniper. Any risks and their associated risk ratings are then discussed, and
the risk register and heat map updated accordingly, with additional measures
put in place to monitor, manage and mitigate risks as required.
Principal risks
The principal risks facing the Company, how they have changed during the year
and how the Board aims to monitor and manage these risks are detailed on the
following pages. The judgments made on risk ratings relate to whether the
situation has worsened or improved relative to where it was at the previous
review.
Risk and potential impact Risk rating How we monitor and manage the risk
Market risk: loss on the portfolio in absolute terms, caused by economic and Stable · The Board sets investment guidelines and the Investment Manager
political events, interest rate movements and fluctuation in foreign exchange selects Stock Pickers and styles to provide diversification within the
rates. portfolio.
· The Board receives regular updates from the Investment Manager
and monitors adverse movements and impacts on the portfolio.
· An explanation of the different components of market risk and how
they are individually managed is contained in note 18 to the Financial
Statements.
Investment performance: relative underperformance makes the Company an Increased due to underperformance against the benchmark · The Company's investment performance against its investment
unattractive investment proposition. objective, relevant benchmark and closed and open ended peer group are
reviewed and challenged where appropriate by the Board at every Board meeting.
The challenge process can lead to additional meetings to discuss in more
detail. Details explaining the relative underperformance for the year can be
found on pages 7 to 15 of the Annual Report.
· The Board receives regular reporting from the Investment Manager
to allow it to review the approach to ESG and climate risk factors embedded
within the investment process from the Company's perspective.
Strategy and market rating: demand for the Company's shares decreases due to Stable · The Board regularly reviews the share register and receives
changes in demand for the Company's strategy or secular changes in investor feedback from the Investment Manager and broker on all marketing and investor
demand. relations and shareholder meetings, to keep informed of investor sentiment and
how the Company is perceived in the market.
· The Board monitors the Company's share price discount and,
working with the broker undertakes periodic share buybacks as appropriate to
meet its strategic objective of maintaining a stable discount.
Capital structure and financial risk: inappropriate capital or gearing Stable · The Board receives regular updates on the capital structure of
structure may result in losses for the Company. the Company including share capital, borrowings, structure of reserves,
compliance with ongoing covenants and shareholder authorities, to allow
ongoing monitoring of the appropriate structure.
· The Board reviews and manages the borrowing limits under which
the Investment Manager operates.
· Shareholder authority is sought annually in relation to share
issuance and buybacks to facilitate ongoing management of the share capital.
Operational
All of the Company's operations are outsourced to third party service Stable · The Board monitors the services provided by the key services
providers. Any failure in the operational controls of the Company's service suppliers and formally reviews the performance of each on an annual basis,
providers could result in financial, legal or regulatory and reputational including the review of audited internal control reports where appropriate. No
damage for the Company. material issues were raised as part of the evaluation process in 2025.
Operational risks include cyber security, IT systems failure, inadequacy of · Cyber security continues to be a key focus for the Board. Reports
oversight and control, climate risk and ineffective disaster recovery on the cyber security, IT testing environment and disaster recovery testing of
planning. each key service provider are reviewed by the Board annually.
· Any breaches in controls which have resulted in errors or
incidents are required to be immediately notified to the Board along with
proposed remediation actions.
Legal and regulatory
Failure to adhere to all legal and regulatory requirements could lead to Stable · The Board has contracted with its key service suppliers,
financial and legal penalties, reputational damage and potential loss of including the Investment Manager and Juniper, in relation to its ongoing legal
investment trust status. and regulatory compliance. The Board receives quarterly reports from each
supplier to monitor ongoing compliance. The Company has complied with all
legal and regulatory requirements in 2025.
· Any breaches in controls which have resulted in errors or
incidents are required to be immediately notified to the Board, along with
proposed remediation actions.
Emerging risks
Emerging risks are typified by having a high degree of uncertainty and may
result from sudden events, new potential trends or changing specific risks
where the impact and probable effect is hard to assess. As the assessment
becomes clearer, the risk may be added to the risk matrix of 'known' risks.
The Board is currently monitoring a number of emerging risks: geopolitical
tension continues to be an emerging risk for the Company due to ongoing
conflicts across the world. Along with increased populism and nationalism,
these risks may impact individual economies and global markets. Although
covered in the operational risk section above, the Board recognises the
increased risk that cybercrime and the misuse of AI poses to the Company.
Geopolitical events coupled with the potential breakdown in post war alliances
and changes to US economic and international policies could continue to bring
uncertainty and fragility to capital markets in 2026.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Directors have a number of obligations including those under section 172
of the Companies Act 2006. These obligations relate to how the Board takes
account of various factors in making its decisions - including the impact of
its decisions on key stakeholders. The Board is focused on the Company's
performance and its responsibilities to stakeholders, corporate culture and
diversity, as well as its contributions to wider society, and it takes account
of stakeholder interests when making decisions on behalf of the Company. As an
externally-managed investment trust, the Board considers the Company's key
stakeholders to be existing and potential new shareholders and its service
providers.
Full details on the primary ways in which the Board engaged with the Company's
key stakeholders can be found on pages 27 to 29 of the Annual Report.
Dean Buckley
Chair
5 March 2026
Viability and Going Concern Statements
Viability Statement
The Board has assessed the prospects and viability of the Company beyond the
12 months required by the Going Concern accounting provisions.
The Board considered the current position of the Company and its prospects,
strategy and planning process as well as its principal and emerging risks in
the current, medium and long term, as set out on pages 24 to 26 of the Annual
Report. After the year-end but prior to approval of these Accounts, the Board
reviewed its performance against its strategic objectives and its management
of the principal and emerging risks facing the Company.
The Board received regular updates on performance and other factors that could
impact on the viability of the Company.
The Board has concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the
Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they
fall due for at least the next five years; the Board expects this position to
continue over many more years to come. The Company's Investment Objective,
which was approved by shareholders in April 2019, is to deliver a real return
over the long term, through a combination of capital growth and a rising
dividend, and the Board regards the Company's shares as a long-term
investment. The Board believes that a period of five years is considered a
reasonable period for investment in equities and is appropriate for the
composition of the Company's portfolio.
In arriving at this conclusion, the Board considered:
· Financial strength: As at 31 December 2025 the Company had total
assets of £5.5bn, with net gearing of 6.3% and gross gearing of 8.7%. At the
year-end the Company had £121.2m of cash or cash equivalents.
· Investment: The portfolio is invested in listed equities across
the globe. The portfolio is structured for long-term performance; the Board
considers five years as being an appropriate period over which to measure
performance.
· Liquidity: The Company is closed-ended, which means that there is
no requirement to realise investments to allow shareholders to sell their
shares. The Directors consider this structure supports the long-term viability
and sustainability of the Company, and have assumed that shareholders will
continue to be attracted to the closed-ended structure due to its liquidity
benefit. During the year, WTW carried out a liquidity analysis and stress test
which indicated that around 82% of the Company's portfolio could be sold
within a single day and a further 15% within 10 days, without materially
influencing market pricing. WTW performs liquidity analysis and stress testing
on the Company's portfolio of investments on an ongoing basis under both
current and stressed conditions. WTW remains comfortable with the liquidity of
the portfolio under both of these market conditions. The Board would not
expect this position to materially alter in the future.
· Dividends: The Company has significant accumulated distributable
reserves which together with investment income can be used to support payment
of the Company's dividend. The Board regularly reviews revenue forecasts and
considers the long-term sustainability of dividends under a variety of
different scenarios. The Company has sufficient funds to meet its Dividend
Policy commitments.
· Reserves: The Company has £5.1bn of distributable reserves and
£0.01bn of other reserves as at 31 December 2025.
· Discount: The Company has no fixed discount control policy. The
Company will continue to buy back shares when the Board considers it
appropriate, to take advantage of any significant widening of the discount and
to produce NAV accretion for shareholders.
· Significant Risks: The Company has a risk and control framework
which includes a number of triggers which, if breached, would alert the Board
to any potential adverse scenarios. The Board has developed and reviewed
various scenarios based on potentially adverse events as set out in note 18 on
pages 99 to 107 of the Annual Report.
· Borrowing: The Company's borrowing facilities were reviewed to
ensure they remained appropriate. The Company's available borrowing facilities
with The Bank of Nova Scotia were consequently reduced to £75m with a £25m
accordion option and the borrowing facilities with The Royal Bank of Scotland
International were repaid and cancelled during January 2026. The Company's
weighted average borrowings costs have reduced by 0.3%. All borrowings are
secured by floating charges over the assets of the Company. The Company
comfortably meets its banking covenants.
· Security: The Company retains title to all assets held by the
Custodian which are subject to further safeguards imposed on the Depositary.
· Operations: Throughout the year under review, the Company's key
service providers continued to operate in line with service level agreements
with no significant errors or breaches having been recorded.
Going Concern Statement
In view of the conclusions drawn in the foregoing Viability Statements, which
considered the resources of the Company over the next 12 months and beyond,
the Directors believe that the Company has adequate financial resources to
continue in existence for at least twelve months from the date of approval of
these financial statements. Therefore, the Directors believe that it is
appropriate to continue to adopt the Going Concern basis in preparing the
financial statements.
Directors' Responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the
Financial Statements in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards and applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Financial Statements for each
financial year. Under that law the Directors are required to prepare the
Financial Statements in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards. Under company law the Directors must not approve the Financial
Statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss for that period.
In preparing these Financial Statements, the Directors are required to:
· Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them
consistently;
· Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and
prudent;
· State whether they have been prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted International Accounting Standards, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements;
· Prepare the Financial Statements on the Going Concern basis
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in
business; and
· Prepare a Directors' Report, a Strategic Report and Directors'
Remuneration Report which comply with the requirements of the Companies Act
2006.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are
sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions, and disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and
enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Companies
Act 2006.
They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence
for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and
other irregularities. The Directors are responsible for ensuring that the
Annual Report and Financial Statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced
and understandable and provides the information necessary for shareholders to
assess the Company's position, performance, business model and strategy.
Website publication
The Directors are responsible for ensuring the Annual Report and the Financial
Statements are made available on a website. Financial Statements are published
on the Company's website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom
governing the preparation and dissemination of Financial Statements, which may
vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of
the Company's website is the responsibility of the Directors. The Directors'
responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the Financial
Statements contained therein.
Report of Directors and Responsibility Statement
The Report of the Directors on pages 30 to 69 of the Annual Report (other than
pages 65 to 67 which form part of the Strategic Report) of the Annual Report
and Accounts has been approved by the Board. The Directors have chosen to
include information relating to future development of the Company and
relationships with suppliers, customers and others, and their impact on the
Board's decisions on pages 27 to 29 of the Strategic Report.
Each of the Directors, who are listed on pages 31 to 35 of the Annual Report,
confirm to the best of their knowledge that:
· The Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with the
applicable set of UK adopted International Accounting Standards, give a true
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or
loss of the Company;
· The Annual Report includes a fair view of the development and
performance of the business and the position of the Company, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that the Company faces;
and
· In the opinion of the Board, the Annual Report and Financial
Statements taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and
provides the information necessary to assess the Company's position,
performance, business model and strategy.
On behalf of the Board
Dean Buckley
Chair
5 March 2026
Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 December 2025
Year to 31 December 2025 Year to 31 December 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£000
Income 97,891 227 98,118 72,463 354 72,817
Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss - 192,053 192,053 - 449,551 449,551
Gains/(losses) on derivatives - 11,225 11,225 - (206) (206)
(Losses)/gains on fair value of debt - (8,821) (8,821) - 16,708 16,708
Total 97,891 194,684 292,575 72,463 466,407 538,870
Investment management fees (4,616) (13,847) (18,463) (5,381) (13,058) (18,439)
Administrative expenses (5,737) (359) (6,096) (3,661) (281) (3,942)
Finance costs (4,177) (12,532) (16,709) (3,221) (9,662) (12,883)
Foreign exchange losses - (16,250) (16,250) - (1,010) (1,010)
Profit before tax 83,361 151,696 235,057 60,200 442,396 502,596
Taxation (10,374) (219) (10,593) (6,545) (5,348) (11,893)
Profit for the year 72,987 151,477 224,464 53,655 437,048 490,703
All profit for the year is attributable to equity holders.
Earnings per share (pence per share) 18.52 38.45 56.97 17.30 140.95 158.25
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.
During the prior year, the Company acquired the assets and liabilities of
Witan Investment Trust plc following a scheme of reconstruction.
The 'Total' column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the
Company and the 'Revenue' and
'Capital' columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance
issued by the Association of
Investment Companies. The Company does not have any other comprehensive income
and hence profit for
the year, as disclosed above, is the same as the Company's total comprehensive
income.
Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Distributable reserves
£000 Share Capital Share premium account Capital redemption reserve Special reserve Realised capital reserve Unrealised capital reserve Revenue reserve Total distributable reserves Total equity
At 1 January 2024 7,106 - 11,892 - 2,658,727 574,645 84,318 3,317,690 3,336,688
Total comprehensive income:
Profit/(loss) for the year - - - - 458,122 (21,074) 53,655 490,703 490,703
Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity:
Issue of ordinary shares in respect of the combination with Witan 3,024 1,535,877 - - - - - - 1,538,901
Costs in relation to the combination - (4,947) - - - - - - (4,947)
Ordinary dividends paid - - - - - - (82,414) (82,414) (82,414)
Unclaimed dividends returned - - - - - - 9 9 9
Own shares purchased - - - - (56,987) - - (56,987) (56,987)
Balance at 31 December 2024 10,130 1,530,930 11,892 - 3,059,862 553,571 55,568 3,669,001 5,221,953
Total comprehensive income:
Profit/(loss) for the year - - - - 162,964 (11,487) 72,987 224,464 224,464
Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity:
Reduction and reclassification of share premium account((1)) - (1,530,930) - 1,530,930 - - - 1,530,930 -
Ordinary dividends paid - - - - - - (110,029) (110,029) (110,029)
Unclaimed dividends returned - - - - - - 19 19 19
Cost of reduction and reclassification of share premium account - - - (63) - - - (63) (63)
Own shares purchased - - - (147,779) (75,822) - - (223,601) (223,601)
Balance at 31 December 2025 10,130 - 11,892 1,383,088 3,147,004 542,084 18,545 5,090,721 5,112,743
((1)) On 5 August 2025 the Court of Session in Scotland (the 'Court') approved
the reduction of the Company's share premium account and the crediting of an
equivalent amount to the Company's distributable reserves. The Order of the
Court approving the reduction became effective on 14 August 2025 when it was
registered with the Registrar of Companies.
The £542.1m (2024: £553.6m) of unrealised capital reserve comprising
£531.3m unrealised gains on investments; £12.7m unrealised gains on
borrowings; and £1.9m unrealised currency losses is subject to fair value
movements and may not be readily realisable at short notice, as such it may
not be entirely distributable. The unrealised gains on borrowings of £12.7m
(2024: £22.8m) and gains on Level 3 investments of £6.8m (2024: £3.5m) are
not distributable.
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£000
Non‑current assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss 5,358,871 5,402,381
5,358,871 5,402,381
Current assets
Outstanding settlements and other receivables 10,106 11,282
Cash and cash equivalents 121,165 182,725
131,271 194,007
Total assets 5,490,142 5,596,388
Current liabilities
Outstanding settlements and other payables (5,722) (13,057)
Bank loans (61,901) (45,245)
(67,623) (58,302)
Total assets less current liabilities 5,422,519 5,538,086
Non‑current liabilities
Fixed rate loan notes held at fair value (308,097) (299,276)
Bank loans - (15,000)
Deferred tax provision (1,679) (1,857)
(309,776) (316,133)
Net assets 5,112,743 5,221,953
Equity
Share capital 10,130 10,130
Share premium account - 1,530,930
Capital redemption reserve 11,892 11,892
Special reserve 1,383,088 -
Capital reserve 3,689,088 3,613,433
Revenue reserve 18,545 55,568
Total equity 5,112,743 5,221,953
All net assets are attributable to equity holders.
Net asset value per ordinary share attributable to equity holders (£) £13.37 £13.05
The Financial Statements were approved by the Board of Directors and
authorised for issue on 5 March 2026.
They were signed on its behalf by:
Jo Dixon
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit before tax 235,057 502,596
Adjustments for:
Gains on investments (192,053) (449,551)
(Gains)/losses on derivatives (11,225) 206
Losses/(gains) on fair value debt 8,821 (16,708)
Foreign exchange losses 16,250 1,010
Dividend income (95,125) (71,317)
Other income (2,993) (1,500)
Dividend income received 95,639 69,435
Other income received 2,620 1,500
Finance costs 16,709 12,883
Operating cash flows before movements in working capital 73,700 48,554
Decrease/(increase) in receivables 341 (392)
Decrease in payables (699) (43)
Net cash inflow from operating activities before tax 73,342 48,119
Taxes paid (9,991) (10,701)
Net cash inflow from operating activities 63,351 37,418
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds on disposal of investments 5,153,245 4,697,547
Purchases of investments (4,937,901) (4,702,449)
Settlement of derivative financial instruments 11,225 (206)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities 226,569 (5,108)
Net cash inflow before financing 289,920 32,310
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid - equity (110,029) (82,414)
Unclaimed dividends returned 19 9
Net cash acquired following the combination with Witan - 177,581
Costs paid in relation to the combination with Witan - (4,947)
Costs of share premium account cancellation (63) -
Purchase of own shares (223,508) (56,987)
Repayment of bank debt (46,000) (59,000)
Drawdown of bank debt 46,000 104,874
Finance costs paid (16,506) (12,033)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities (350,087) 67,083
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (60,167) 99,393
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the year 182,725 84,974
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes (1,393) (1,642)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 121,165 182,725
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's
statutory Financial Statements for the years ended 31 December 2025 or 2024,
but is derived from those Financial Statements. Statutory accounts for 2024
have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2025 will be
delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have
reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified, did not draw
attention to any matters by way of emphasis without qualifying their report
and did not contain statements under s498(2) or (3) Companies Act 2006.
The same accounting policies, presentations and methods of computation are
followed in these Financial Statements as were applied in the Company's last
annual audited Financial Statements, other than those stated in the Annual
Report.
Basis of accounting
The Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted
international accounting standards ('IASs').
The Financial Statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis,
except that investments and fixed rate notes are stated at fair value through
the profit and loss. The Association of Investment Companies ('AIC') issued a
Statement of Recommended Practice: Financial Statements of Investment
Companies ('AIC SORP') in July 2022. The Directors have sought to prepare the
Financial Statements in accordance with the AIC SORP where the recommendations
are consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'). The
Company qualifies as an investment entity.
1. Income
An analysis of the Company's revenue is as follows:
£000 2025 2024
Revenue:
Income from investments
Listed dividends - UK 16,663 10,125
Listed dividends ‑ Overseas 78,235 60,838
94,898 70,963
Other income
Bank interest 2,278 1,475
Interest from liquidity funds 627 -
Other income 88 25
2,993 1,500
Total allocated to revenue 97,891 72,463
Capital:
Income from investments
Listed dividends - UK - 23
Listed dividends - Overseas 227 331
Total allocated to capital 227 354
Total income 98,118 72,817
2. Dividends
Dividends paid during the year
£000 2025 2024
2023 fourth interim dividend 6.34p per share - 18,003
2024 first interim dividend 6.62p per share - 18,799
2024 second interim dividend 6.62p per share - 18,676
2024 third interim dividend 6.73p per share - 26,936
2024 fourth interim dividend 6.73p per share 26,933 -
2025 first interim dividend 7.08p per share 28,087 -
2025 second interim dividend 7.08p per share 27,814 -
2025 third interim dividend 7.08p per share 27,195 -
110,029 82,414
Dividends payable for the year
We also set out below the total dividend payable in respect of the financial
year, which is the basis on which the requirements of Section 1158/1159 of the
Corporation Tax Act 2010 are considered.
£000 2025 2024
2024 first interim dividend 6.62p per share - 18,799
2024 second interim dividend 6.62p per share - 18,676
2024 third interim dividend 6.73p per share - 26,936
2024 fourth interim dividend 6.73p per share - 26,933
2025 first interim dividend 7.08p per share 28,087 -
2025 second interim dividend 7.08p per share 27,814 -
2025 third interim dividend 7.08p per share 27,195 -
2025 fourth interim dividend 7.08p per share, payable 31 March 2026 26,895 -
109,991 91,344
3. Earnings per share
The calculation of earnings per share is based on the following data:
2025 2024
£000 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Ordinary shares
Earnings for the purpose of earnings per share being net profit attributable 72,987 151,477 224,464 53,655 437,048 490,703
to equity holders
Number of shares
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year 393,986,552 310,079,630
The Company has no securities in issue that could dilute the return per
ordinary share. Therefore the basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share
are the same.
4. Related party transactions
There are amounts of £1,222 (2024: £1,222) and £34,225 (2024: £34,225)
owed to AT2006 and The Second Alliance Trust Limited, respectively, at
year-end.
There are no other related parties other than those noted below.
Transactions with key management personnel
Details of the Non-Executive Directors are disclosed on pages 31 to 35 of the
Annual Report.
For the purpose of IAS 24 'Related Party Disclosures', key management
personnel comprised the Non-Executive Directors of the Company.
Details of remuneration are disclosed in the Remuneration Report on pages 59
to 64 of the Annual Report.
£000 2025 2024
Total emoluments 429 337
ANNUAL REPORT
The Annual Report will be available in due course on the Company's website
www.alliancewitan.com (http://www.alliancewitan.com) . It will also be made
available to the public at the Company's registered office, River Court, 5
West Victoria Dock Road, Dundee DD1 3JT (with effect from 29 May 2026, Flour
Mill Dundee, 34 Commercial Street, Dundee DD1 3EJ) and at the offices of the
Company's Registrar, Computershare Investor Services PLC, Edinburgh House, 4
North St Andrew Street, Edinburgh EH2 1HJ after publication.
In addition to the full Annual Report, up-to-date performance data and other
information about the Company can be found on the Company's website.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This year's AGM will be held on 29 April 2026 at 3.00pm at the offices of WTW,
51 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7DQ.
The Board remains committed to maintaining a physical AGM, with shareholders
and Directors present in person. However, the AGM will also be streamed live
to shareholders. A web link will be provided for those shareholders wishing to
join the AGM via the live stream. Information on how to obtain the link will
be published on the Company's website in due course.
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