Alliance Trust’s activist investor Laxey Partners has failed in a bid to force the investment trust to introduce a discount mechanism to regulate the fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV).

Shareholders in the UK’s largest investment trust voted 66.52 per cent against Laxey’s proposal in favour of Alliance’s plans to continue to use share buy backs as and when necessary to regulate the NAV.

Alliance Trust has £2.5 billion of assets under management and the current discount to NAV stands at 15.2 per cent compared to an average of eight per cent across the sector.

Lesley Knox, outgoing chairman of Alliance Trust, thanked shareholders for their support, after confirming that turnout was close to 60 per cent - nearly double the normal turnout.

She said, ‘We will continue to focus on our key priority of improving the investment performance. We have also today confirmed our commitment to the ongoing flexible use of share buybacks.

‘The step-change in the company's active use of buybacks in recent months will continue, taking into account the Company's discount relative to the peer group.’

The buy back of around £10 million of shares began in November last year when the discount to NAV stood at 17 per cent.