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 Return1 of 5.4%.
2. The Company’s Net Asset Value Total Return1 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.
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 Return1 | Share Price |
| +4.7% | 1,282.0p |
| (2024: +13.3%) | (2024: 1,244.0p) |
| Share Price Total Return1 | Discount to NAV1 |
| +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
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 59th 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 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