Statement re Expansion Plans

Alliance Trust Plc announces that it has secured £1.95 million in Regional
Selective Assistance (RSA) grant to assist its expansion.

The associated press release follows:

Alliance Trust has won backing from the Scottish Executive with a £1.95m
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant that will support its plans to create
a further 160 new jobs in Dundee in its expanding pensions, asset management
and investment dealing businesses over the next three years. Alliance Trust
also announced plans to build a large, modern headquarters in the centre of
Dundee.

Alliance Trust said the grant will enable it to strengthen its commitment to
the city, where it has been based since 1888. Alliance Trust's roots go back to
the late 19th century when it began investing on behalf of Scottish investors
in the United States. The group has evolved into an international investment
and financial services group and is continuing the development and growth of
its financial services businesses.

Alliance Trust Chief Executive Alan Harden said, "Alliance Trust is going
through a really exciting period of growth. In the last year, our pensions
business has become one of the country's top SIPP providers, we have launched
an asset management business and we have started rolling out a great new online
service for investors which includes share dealing.

"We wanted to keep Dundee, our historic home, at the heart of this expansion
because the city has always defined our independent spirit and provided so many
of our talented and dedicated staff. This grant from the Scottish Executive
will support our plans, enabling us to expand in Dundee as we build a
first-class headquarters that reflects our standing as one of Scotland's
leading companies."

Alliance Trust, which has offices in Dundee, Edinburgh, London and Hong Kong,
has recently leased two office buildings in Dundee because its workforce has
outgrown its headquarters in Reform Street. Around 200 of Alliance Trust's
staff of 280 work in Dundee. The grant from the Scottish Executive's RSA scheme
to support the creation of 160 new jobs in Dundee will be paid out in stages as
the company achieves its projected growth.

Harden said, "We are a closely-knit and innovative company so we are really
excited about the prospect that these highly efficient and flexible offices
will reunite all our Dundee staff in one excellent environment where we can
work even more effectively together and go on developing and improving the
services we offer. Investing in an office building of this size and quality
which is not currently available for lease in Dundee, will allow us to go on
attracting the highest-quality professionals and add value to the city's
economy."

Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen said, "I am delighted that this grant is
supporting the expansion plans of a Scottish company that has been an integral
part of Dundee's economy for more than a century. RSA grants can make a
significant contribution in supporting Scottish companies as they enhance our
economy by creating high-quality jobs across a range of skilled sectors.

"Alliance Trust's decision to consolidate its three Dundee operations into new
headquarters is great news for the city and an exciting development for
Scotland's thriving financial services sector.

"Scotland is internationally recognised as the most important UK financial
centre outside London. I am particularly pleased about this development because
Alliance Trust is thriving in Dundee, outside our traditional financial
districts, showing that you can build competitive international companies and
world-class financial products throughout Scotland."

Alliance Trust plans to build a six-storey headquarters in Dundee city centre
across 50,000 sq ft on the site of the former Burns and Harris printworks. It
will buy the land from Dundee City Council, which has been instrumental in
developing the plans for the site and in progressing the demolition works to
prepare the site for development.

The building is being designed by Edinburgh-based architects RMJM, an
award-winning international practice whose expertise ranges from bespoke
corporate headquarter buildings to specialist education facilities. RMJM has
worked on the Scottish Executive headquarters in Leith, the Scottish Parliament
and the Glaxo Wellcome world headquarters in Greenford. The practice has also
just been commissioned to design the new St. Petersburg headquarters of
Gazprom, the world's largest gas company, is working on the Beijing Olympic
Green Convention Centre, and completed a world class Chemistry Research
Laboratory at Oxford University.

Planning permission has already been obtained for the outline design and the
company is currently working with RMJM on the next stage of the design. It is
anticipated that the headquarters will take a largely open-plan design and
accommodate around 400 staff. Building is expected to begin in summer 2007 and
construction should be complete by the end of 2008.

Dundee City Council economic development convener Councillor Joe Morrow said:
"I am delighted that Alliance Trust is continuing its historic links with the
city of Dundee by making this major investment locally. The Trust has grown to
become a global financial player and this announcement shows how the company
values its base in Dundee as an excellent place to do worldwide business.

"The city council is hugely optimistic for the future of Dundee and this
decision by Alliance Trust is testament to the transformation of this city over
the last few years. We are now widely seen as a knowledge hub that attracts
talent from around the world to its pioneering biosciences and computer games
industries. The history of Alliance Trust goes back into the industrial past of
Dundee. What we are seeing now is a pledge to go forward into the future
together with the city."

Scottish Enterprise business growth manager David Anderson said: "This is
fantastic news from a company we have worked closely with and shows yet again
that Dundee has the infrastructure and facilities to retain and attract major
employers. We have had a number of significant announcements over the last few
months in life sciences and digital media and it is great to see such a high
number of jobs created in another of our priority sectors for business growth
in Scotland. "

Contacts

Gill Cattanach, Head of Group Marketing

Alliance Trust PLC

Tel [phone]

Mobile [phone]

Email [e-mail]

Web www.alliancetrust.com

Kelly O'Donnell, Head of Investor Relations

Tel [phone]

Email [e-mail]

Amy Fisher/ Richard Winder/ Jeena Nadarajan

Lansons Communications

Tel [phone]

Email [e-mail]