The payout follows the announcement made in March that the company had outperformed its expectations in 2019.

The Trust’s Total Shareholder Return for 2019 was 24.3% (2018: -6.1%) and the Trust’s Net Asset Value (NAV) Total Return1 was 23.1% (2018: - 5.4%) versus 21.7% (2018: -3.3%) for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI).

Alliance Trust currently has £2.5 billion of assets under management.

Gregor Stewart, chairman of Alliance Trust, said: “In our Annual Report, published in March, we highlighted the fact that we have now increased our dividend for 53 years in a row. The Board recognises the importance of rising dividends to our shareholders, particularly at difficult times like these when so many companies are cutting or cancelling their dividends to protect their balance sheets.

“We are pleased that our progressive dividend policy has been overwhelmingly endorsed by shareholders at our Annual General Meeting earlier today. Alliance Trust has built up strong revenue reserves from which it can pay dividends when there is a shortfall in income from our portfolio.

“We will, should it be necessary to do so, use these reserves to supplement this year’s and future dividend payments. Even though we anticipate that our income will drop this year, we intend to continue our record of annual dividend growth into a 54th year.”

The announcement comes as many businesses across the UK have suspended dividends amid the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

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