Fridays owner Hostmore admitted to London Stock Exchange Hostmore – the new parent company of restaurant chain Fridays – has started trading on the London Stock Exchange. The group – which oversees 63rd+1st as well as Fridays – announced a demerger had been completed, separating it from Electra Private Equity. Shares were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning with 126,127,279 [...]
Ex-Virgin Money boss among two women replacing men on Bank of England’s financial policy committee Former boss of Virgin Money Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has been added to the Bank of England’s financial policy committee alongside the chair of the Banking Standards Board Dame Colette Bowe, chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. The pair will replace Richard Sharp and Martin Taylor, who are stepping down at the end of the first quarter [...]
City activists smell the scent of success: Edward Bramson’s showdown at Electra follows battles over Alliance Trust and John Menzies US corporate raider Edward Bramson is closing in on one of the UK’s oldest private equity groups, Electra, six months after he failed to capture the firm. The showdown comes amid a flurry of UK activist raids since the turn of the year, underscored by little-known fund Lakestreet Capital, which yesterday revealed it [...]
Activist investor Ed Bramson loses Electra battle October 6, 2014 Activist investor Edward Bramson yesterday lost his battle to wrest control of private equity trust Electra after a crunch shareholder meeting. More than 60 per cent of investors voted against Bramson’s proposal to put himself on the company’s board. It still leaves Bramson with a stake of around 20 per cent in the group.
Electra on hook for up to £3m to defeat Ed Bramson raid October 6, 2014 Electra will face a bill of up to £3m after facing down corporate raider Ed Bramson’s bid to wrest control of the fund yesterday. Roger Yates, Electra chairman, said the long running battle would cost the group between £2m and £3m in banking and legal fees. “I don’t think the way in which [...]
Electra share price drops as shareholders fend off activist investor Edward Bramson and Sherborne Investors October 6, 2014 Electra shareholders have fended off a bid by activist investor Edward Bramson to join the private equity fund’s board at its annual general meeting today. The move sent shares in Electra down almost two per cent this morning. Bramson’s Sherborne Investors had sought backing for reform of the group, with the elusive investor telling shareholders [...]
Electra board rallies investors against Edward Bramson’s offensive October 5, 2014 Electra’s board faces a crunch vote at today’s annual general meeting, as shareholders decide whether or not to elect an activist investor to the board to shake up the private equity firm. The board has been in a series of last-minute meetings with investors over the past week, in a bid to convince them not [...]
Bramson shows hand on Electra bid September 17, 2014 The boadroom showdown at Electra Private Equity turned up a notch yesterday as activist shareholder Edward Bramson enticed shareholders by pledging to double the share price. Bramson slammed the Electra board’s lack of commercial experience and below-par performance in a letter to shareholders and pushed for heads to roll at a 6 October shareholder’s meeting. [...]
Electra strikes £90m deal to buy The Original Bowling Company September 8, 2014 Private equity firm Electra Partners yesterday clinched a £91m deal to take control of the UK’s largest bowling alley operator The Original Bowling Company. The group, which is currently wrestling with activist investor Ed Bramson over strategic control of Electra’s future, has bought the 43-site business from CBPE Capital. “We are now firmly established as [...]
US raider Ed Bramson shunned in bid to wrest control of Electra July 29, 2014 Hyper activist investor Ed Bramson was rebuffed by UK-listed private equity outfit Electra yesterday after swooping to take control of the company. Bramson, who took over fund manager F&C in 2011 before slashing jobs at the group, took a 19 per cent stake in Electra earlier this year without declaring his intentions. Electra yesterday told [...]