An activist investor is locked in a race against time to convince Barclays (BARC) investors that he should be given a seat on the bank’s board. Edward Bramson, who is stalking the banking giant through his firm Sherborne Investors, has so far failed to produce a detailed plan to win shareholder support ahead of the Barclays’ annual meeting next month. Voting on his proposal started more than two weeks ago. He now has until the end of this month to convince 75% of shareholders to back his plan. Bramson raised money from investors to buy a 5.5% stake in Barclays before his approach a year ago. But he is still working on a fully detailed proposal on how he intends to fix the bank. Sources have told The Mail on Sunday the delay is partly due to the complexity of banking regulations, which make it difficult to cut costs while meeting stringent demands from watchdogs.
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) has been too confrontational with its biggest franchisees, says one of its major investors. The spat started last year when powerful franchisees claimed they were not receiving a big enough slice of the delivery firm’s profits – leading to them threatening to halt new store openings. Philip Macartney, at Columbia Threadneedle, a top ten shareholder, said: ‘I have concerns with the way [Domino’s] has dealt with that relationship. It’s become adversarial between the franchisees and the company. It was a failing not to understand the franchisees’ concerns and pressures. Now the horse has bolted and they are chasing their tails.’ The fund manager also turned his ire on the franchisees, claiming they had been ‘over-earning a few years ago’. He added: ‘When you look at franchisees across the globe, UK franchisees are making the highest level of profits.’
Persimmon (PSN) has launched an independent review of its business as it battles to improve customer service and retain a place in the taxpayer-funded Help To Buy scheme. Britain’s second-biggest housebuilder, which raked in £1billion in profit last year amid stinging criticism over fat-cat pay and shoddy workmanship, said the review would be chaired by Stephanie Barwise QC and be ready later this year. The move comes after Persimmon pledged to improve customer service following a warning from the Government that it could lose its prized place in the Help To Buy loan scheme. Anger at the housebuilder has been compounded because of the record profits it has made, which critics claim are largely off the back of the taxpayer-funded scheme.
