Scottish Mortgage buys back £311m of shares, a one-day record

Scottish Mortgage (SMT) yesterday bought back £311m of its shares in what looks to be a record for the UK investment company sector.

The £12bn Baillie Gifford flagship purchased 35m shares at £8.95, a dramatic step-up in its bid to remove the discount at which its stock has fallen and placate activist hedge fund Elliott Management, which has a 5% position in the company.

Winterflood analyst Shavar Halberstadt said ‘this is among the largest single-day buybacks in investment trust history’, predicting it would be ‘supportive for the rating’.