Acquisition by Subsidiary

The Alliance Trust PLC announces that its subsidiary financial services company,
Alliance Trust Savings Limited (ATS), is acquiring Wolanski & Co. Trustees
Limited and its SIPP and SSAS pensions administration business.

ATS is owned by The Alliance Trust PLC (75%) and The Second Alliance Trust PLC
(25%).

This announcement is made as a matter of record only.

The associated press release follows.

For further information please contact:

Ian Goddard, Company Secretary - Tel. [phone]
Kelly O'Donnell, Head of Investor Relations - Tel. [phone]

Alliance Trusts
Press release

3 October 2005

Two leading SIPP providers joining forces to take advantage of growing pensions
market

Alliance Trust Savings (ATS), a financial services company that is among the top
ten providers of self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) in the UK market,
announced today (Monday) it is acquiring Wolanski & Co. Trustees Limited (WACT),
in a deal that will create a top five SIPP provider.

The deal will bring together two of the most experienced companies in the
rapidly expanding SIPP market, uniting their complementary skills. Demand for
SIPPs is expected to grow sharply after next April when new rules will lift
restrictions on who can hold a SIPP and greatly expand the range of assets
people are allowed to hold in these pensions.

ATS will acquire all of WACT's SIPP and SSAS (Small Self-administered Scheme)
administration business, and approximately 50 people who work for the London-
based company will now form part of ATS's staff. The deal, to be signed shortly,
will make ATS one of the largest SIPP providers in the UK by number of members.

Alan Harden, Chief Executive of Alliance Trusts said, "By taking the combined
strengths of both companies we have an excellent fit of two different yet
complementary companies. We look forward to building on the strong combination
of the excellent customer service, administrative expertise and focus on fair
value of ATS, with WACT's reputation for quality, sophisticated relationship
with professional advisers and specialist property skills."

"This deal is a first step towards our aim of becoming the country's foremost
SIPP provider. Joining forces allows us to increase the depth of our expertise,
the breadth of services we can offer and the channels through which you can
acquire them. We are delighted that Hyman Wolanski, a founder of WACT and one of
the country's leading experts on SIPPs, has agreed to become a senior member of
our team," Harden said.

While ATS is known for its simple, transaction-based plans, WACT receives most
of its SIPP business through professional advisers and one in ten of the SIPPs
it has opened this year contain commercial property, in which it specialises.

Hyman Wolanski, Managing Director of Wolanski & Co. Trustees Limited, is to
become a director of ATS and will direct the future development of its pensions
business. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and a graduate of the
London School of Economics. He has also represented the Association of
Consulting Actuaries on the Government's Consultation Panel on Scheme Funding.

Hyman Wolanski said, "Our companies see the opportunity to grow far faster and
better if they can grow together. Like ATS, we are convinced that we have an
exemplary product but we knew that we would have to invest substantially in
technology to take full advantage of the enormous opportunities ahead. This deal
allows us the best of all worlds because we can go on giving our professional
advisers and SIPP and SSAS members the quality service they have come to expect,
while enhancing the combined offer for the long term."

Wolanski & Co. Trustees Limited will become part of ATS continuing to operate
its own SIPP and SSAS schemes, and its scheme members will enjoy the same terms
and conditions as now. ATS, which is based in Dundee, will keep the London
offices of Wolanski, and there will be no job losses. No relocation is planned.

The actuarial and consulting business, Wolanski & Co is outside of this
transaction and will continue to operate unchanged as a separate firm.

Notes to Editors

1       Alliance Trust Savings (ATS) is a financial services company that offers ISAs, PEPs, SIPPs and
        Investment Plans, including First Steps, an investment plan for children. ATS administers more
        than £1.6bn assets on behalf of over 36,000 customers (as at 31 July 2005). The SIPP is its
        fastest growing product line with the number of members up 10% in the year to July 31, 2005,
        and customer assets in its SIPP up 49% for the year to the end of July, against the previous
        year.

2       Wolanski and Co. Trustees Limited (WACT)  provides high-quality administration services for
        over 3,300 SIPPs for individuals who wish to manage their pension funds and nearly 500 SSASs,
        for directors of private companies.

3       ATS is owned by two leading UK investment trusts, The Alliance Trust PLC and The Second
        Alliance Trust PLC, which between them own and manage nearly £2.4bn assets (as at 31 August
        2005) that they invest worldwide. Alliance Trust and Second Alliance Trust are FTSE-250
        companies.

4       ATS is in the top ten of UK SIPP providers by number of members, according to a survey
        published by Pensions World in March 2005 and a survey published by Pensions Management in June
        2005. Together ATS and WACT would rank in the top five, according to those surveys, which are
        based on information supplied by companies.

5       Photographs of Alan Harden and Hyman Wolanski are available if required.


For more information please contact:

Media enquiries
Louise Macfarlane/ Gill Cattanach
Alliance Trusts
Ph: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.alliancetrusts.com

Investor Relations
Kelly O'Donnell
Alliance Trusts
Head of Investor Relations
Ph: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.alliancetrusts.com