Activist Edward Bramson set to try again for Electra board seat

The activist investor Edward Bramson is readying another tilt at the board of the private equity firm Electra despite a heavy defeat last autumn, it has emerged.

Sources said calling a fresh meeting to win a board seat was “an option” for the investor, who has built up a stake of more than 28 per cent in Electra through his investment vehicle Sherborne.

Mr Bramson has yet to reveal his intentions for Electra, which achieved impressive returns last year from investments including Park Resorts. However, he is understood to feel that a review of the business last year “didn’t go far enough” and will press for further action in talks with the Electra chairman, Roger Yates.

Any new vote is likely to be much closer than in October, when Mr Bramson held a smaller stake and 62 per cent voted against his appointment on an 81 per cent turnout. But sources contrasted the situation with Alliance Trust, another company under attack by activists, and said it was “difficult to argue that Electra isn’t delivering for shareholders”.

Both parties declined to comment last night.

Another private equity firm feeling the heat yesterday was SVG Capital – the quoted proxy for industry giant Permira – where 32 per cent of investors voted against the re-election of its chief executive, Lynn Fordham, at the annual general meeting. About 49 per cent voted against the chairman, Andrew Sykes, while 38 per cent failed to back the pay report. Ms Fordham picked up £4.5m in pay last year, compared with just over £5m in 2013.

SVG listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has a portfolio of investments worth more than £1bn. Its 10 largest stakes include those in the fashion retailers Hugo Boss and New Look.