Manchester and London Investment Trust plc (MNL) has announced that all sixteen resolutions put to shareholders at its Annual General Meeting, held on 4 November 2026, were duly passed on a poll. Shareholders approved a combined final ordinary and special dividend of 20.0p per ordinary share, alongside the re-election of four directors and the reappointment of Deloitte LLP as auditor. The AGM results also highlighted a governance nuance relating to independent shareholder voting requirements under the company's Articles of Association, with a resolution to amend Article 89 to be proposed at the 2027 AGM.

Key Points

  • Manchester and London Investment Trust plc (MNL)
  • All sixteen AGM resolutions passed on a poll at the meeting held 4 November 2026
  • A combined final ordinary and special dividend of 20.0p per ordinary share was approved; 71.95% of the issued share capital voted across all resolutions
  • Investors should watch for the proposed removal of Article 89 at the 2027 AGM and any forthcoming dividend payment details

20.0p Combined Dividend and Annual Report Accepted with Near-Unanimous Support

Shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of receiving and accepting the Annual Report, with 100.00% of validly cast votes in support on resolution one. Resolution four, to declare a combined final ordinary and special dividend of 20.0p per ordinary share, passed with 99.99% of votes cast in favour. The Directors' Remuneration Report and Directors' Remuneration Policy were each approved with approximately 99.90% support. As of 2 November 2026, the company had 38,024,587 ordinary shares in circulation, excluding 2,503,651 treasury shares, from a total issued share capital of 40,528,238 ordinary shares.

Daniel Wright Re-Election Draws 25.21% Opposition from Independent Shareholders

Three director re-elections — resolutions five, seven, and eight — were subject to a separate independent shareholder count under Article 89 of the company's Articles of Association, excluding votes cast by M&M Investment Company Ltd, the controlling shareholder. Daniel Wright's re-election as a director attracted the most significant opposition, with 25.21% of independent shareholder votes cast against. Daren Morris and James Waterlow were each re-elected with approximately 97.50% independent shareholder support. Brett Miller's re-election, not subject to the independent vote separation, passed with 99.54% of all votes cast in favour.

Article 89 Governance Correction Flagged Ahead of 2027 AGM

The announcement states that the AGM notice incorrectly attributed the separate independent shareholder voting requirement to the UK Listing Rules. The company clarified that closed-ended investment trusts are expressly excluded from that specific Listing Rule requirement, and that the obligation in fact derives solely from Article 89 of the company's own Articles of Association. To resolve this, the board intends to propose a resolution to remove Article 89 entirely at the 2027 AGM. Investors may be watching how this governance clarification affects future director re-election processes at the trust.

Deloitte Reappointed and Board Granted Key Capital Authorities

Deloitte LLP was reappointed as the company's auditor with 99.89% of votes in favour. Shareholders also granted directors authority to allot ordinary shares, disapply pre-emption rights, sell treasury shares at a discount to net asset value, and conduct market purchases of ordinary shares — all passing as special resolutions with support of approximately 99.49% to 99.92%. Directors were additionally authorised to offer an optional scrip dividend to shareholders and to hold general meetings on 14 clear days' notice.