Strategic Review - Managers

Witan Investment Trust PLC
18 July 2007

WITAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

18 July 2007


                           WITAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

                STRATEGIC REVIEW SEES WITAN APPOINT NEW MANAGERS


Since moving to multi-manager in October 2004, the Board of Witan Investment
Trust has completed the first formal review of its underlying investment
managers and confirms the appointment of Comgest, a Paris-based Asian and
emerging markets specialist, and the Australian arm of Orbis to run the Trust's
Asia ex-Japan and Australasian portfolios respectively.  These managers replace
incumbent Asia ex-Japan manager, APS Asset Management, with immediate effect.

Witan's Board has continually monitored individual manager performance since the
inception of the multi-manager structure.  The replacement of APS reflects their
underperformance and a shift in investment strategy within the Asia ex-Japan
portfolio.  As a result this £76m portfolio will be split between Comgest,
managing £56m in a segregated mandate, and Orbis, managing £20m in the Orbis/SM
Australian Equity Fund.

Asia ex-Japan

Comgest's appointment reflects a strategic decision by the Board to increase
exposure to Indian equities, to date unrepresented in Witan's Asian portfolio.
With some £4.3bn of a total £5.5bn assets under management invested in Asia and
emerging markets, Comgest has a formidable depth of experience in this region.
It employs a research-driven process with an emphasis on producing absolute
returns over the longer term through a focused list of stocks. Since launch in
April 1989, its Asia ex-Japan portfolio has produced compound returns of 10.18%
against benchmark* returns of 2.93%.

Australasia

With high weightings towards financial and mining stocks, Witan's Board believes
Australian and New Zealand markets are not well correlated with other markets in
the pan-Asia region and that exposure is best achieved through a specialist
manager in this area.  Based in Sydney, the Orbis/SM Australia Equity Fund,
managed by Simon Marais, adopts a bottom-up approach to selecting a portfolio of
typically 30-50 stocks, offering best value, diversification and liquidity.
Since launch in January 2006, the Fund has returned 27.22% against benchmark
returns of 26.41%**.

Jim Horsburgh, chief executive officer of Witan Investment Trust plc, said '
Since adopting a multi-manager structure two and a half years ago, the Board has
actively monitored the Trust's underlying managers and its overall structure.
The recent strategic review and consequent changes to the Trust are part of an
on-going assessment process.'

'A key advantage of Witan's open architecture is the Board's ability to replace
managers - in this instance APS - with minimal disruption to the Trust as a
whole.  It also offers the flexibility to engage top-ranking fund managers to
which UK investors wouldn't normally have access.  We have been diligent in our
global search for talented managers with robust and demonstrable investment
processes and whose styles complement those of our existing fund managers,
criteria which both Comgest and Orbis display.'

'Over the coming months Witan will be in a position to implement further changes
to its portfolio emanating from its recent strategic review.'

                                    - Ends -

For further information please contact:

James Budden                       OR   Eleanor Mitchell / Hugo Mortimer-Harvey
Marketing Director                      quill communications
Witan Investment Trust plc              Tel: [phone] 7758 2234
Tel: [phone]                      [e-mail]
[e-mail]                [e-mail]

Notes to editors

*  Benchmark - MSCI AC Asia ex Japan, as at 31.05.07 - source Comgest
** Benchmark - S&P ASX 300 Accumulation as at 05.07.07 - source Orbis

Witan Investment Trust plc

Established in 1909, Witan is one of the UK's largest investment trusts,
managing some £1.5bn* on behalf of some 60,000 investors.  Witan is listed in
the 'Global Growth' sector.

* Source: AIC MIS as at June 2007

Witan Manager Team
Equity mandate        Manager                             Based in           % portfolio*
Global                MFS Investment Management           Boston, USA        10.0
Global                Southeastern Investment Management  Memphis, USA       15.0
UK Mainstream         Henderson Global Investors          London, UK         40.0
UK Smaller Companies  Henderson Global Investors          London, UK         5.0
European ex UK        Wellington Management               Boston, USA        10.0
North American        Henderson Global Investors          London, UK         10.0
Japanese              Brandes Investment Partners         San Diego, USA     5.0
Asia ex-Japan         Comgest                             Paris, France      3.5
Australia             Orbis                               Sydney, Australia  1.5



Registered as an Investment Company in England No 101625.

Comgest

Wholly owned by its principals and staff, Comgest is completely independent.
Founded in Paris in 1986, Comgest also has offices in Hong Kong, Dublin and
Tokyo and manages some £5.5bn solely in equity (£4.3bn in Asia / Emerging
markets). Comgest uses a fundamental bottom-up approach, investing in firms that
show exceptional characteristics and are likely to appreciate steadily over the
long term.  No specific sectors or geographical zones are favoured. Comgest's
objective is to achieve above-average returns at below-average levels of risk
over the long term, reflecting the excellent visibility and strong profit growth
of the companies in which it invests.

www.comgest.com

Orbis

Orbis employs over 100 staff based at offices in Bermuda, London, Sydney and
Seoul and manages approximately US$18 billion (as at 31/3/07). Orbis offers a
range of equity-based pooled investment vehicles, including a range of equity
funds, three of which are AAA rated by Standard & Poors, as well as related
absolute return funds for non-US investors.

Orbis established its Australian office in Sydney during 2002, obtaining its
first AFSL license in 2003 and its second in early 2006.

Orbis Investment management (Australia) Pty Limited, an Australian company based
in Sydney, is the investment manager of the Orbis/SM Australia Equity Fund (The
Fund).  The Company is a subsidiary of Orbis Holdings (Australia) Pty Limited
which is jointly owned by fund manager Simon Marais and Orbis Holdings Limited.

The Fund is an Australian Unit Trust with AUS$375m AUM.  It aims to identify
stocks whose underlying value is not represented by share price using Orbis'
Group proprietary technology as well as the insights of Orbis' team of analysts
on a global and local level.  It is focused on outperforming its benchmark, the
S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index to produce income and capital appreciation over
the longer-term and is not constrained by benchmark weightings.


www.orbisfunds.com.au



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange