(Alliance News) - Gabelli Value Plus Trust PLC on Wednesday said a shareholder in the company has requested a vote on whether the company should continue operating.
Investec Wealth & Investment Ltd is requesting a continuation vote and plans to requisition a general meeting with other Gabelli shareholders.
In a letter to Gabelli's board, Investec said: "We were disappointed that the board had not sought enough views from the wider investor based and were dismissive of considering an early continuation vote, despite little if any justification for why this should not be offered to investors at this time."
Gabelli said it has "reviewed the letter" and does not agree with a number of points that Investec made, in turn, it will respond fully in due course.
In July, the trust said it is looking to amend its continuation vote provision, which was agreed on at the company's IPO in early 2015.
When the trust listed, it agreed to hold a continuation vote every five years if the trust traded, on average, at a discount in excess of 10% of net asset value per share in that fifth year. The next eligible year is the current one, ending March 2020.
Instead, Gabelli Value is hoping to change it and propose a continuation vote every two years, starting from 2020. The trust said the new proposal will not be subject to any pre-conditions, such as the NAV discount.
Investec said: "While we feel this is a move in the right direction we believe this falls some way short of the action we would reasonably expect from a board clearly safeguarding the interests of shareholders."
Shares in Gabelli were 1.3% higher at 131.12 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.