Alliance Witan Achieves 59th Consecutive Dividend Rise; Shares Edge Lower

Alliance Witan (LON: ALW) announced its annual results for the year ended December 31, 2025, highlighting a 59th consecutive annual dividend increase. Despite this achievement, shares reacted modestly, edging down 0.5% in early trading.

The company’s share price reached 1,282 pence (£12.82) by the end of 2025, delivering a Share Price Total Return of 5.4%. However, this trailed the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI), which recorded a return of 13.9%.

Alliance Witan’s Net Asset Value (NAV) Total Return also lagged the benchmark, coming in at 4.7%. The average discount narrowed to 4.1% from 4.7% at the end of 2024, supported by share buybacks.

A fourth interim dividend of 7.08p per share was declared on January 27, 2026, bringing the total dividend for the year to 28.32p per share. This represents a 6.1% increase compared to the previous year.

Dean Buckley, Chair of Alliance Witan, acknowledged the challenging performance relative to the benchmark. “2025 proved a more challenging year for performance relative to our benchmark, as was the case for most active managers,” he stated.

Key Financial Highlights (as of December 31, 2025):

• Net Assets: £5.1 billion (down from £5.2 billion in 2024)
• NAV per Share: 1,337.2p (up from 1,304.9p in 2024)
• Earnings per Share (Revenue): 18.5p (up from 17.3p in 2024)
• Total Dividend per Share: 28.32p (up from 26.70p in 2024)

The company bought back 17.8 million shares (4.7% of shares in issue) during 2025, compared to 4.7 million in 2024. These buybacks were modestly accretive to shareholder returns and helped to narrow the discount to NAV.

Driver Breakdown:

• Dividend Growth: Alliance Witan’s consistent dividend increases remain a key attraction for investors seeking reliable income.
• Multi-Manager Approach: The company’s distinctive investment strategy, blending top stock selections from various active managers, aims to outperform the market while managing risk.
• Discount Management: Share buybacks are actively used to manage the discount to NAV and enhance shareholder value.

The Board recognizes that relative underperformance is disappointing and is fully engaged with the Investment Manager on seeking to improve performance for shareholders over the long term.