Electra facing fresh board demands from Bramson

Bramson has resumed hostilities following a lull in his strained relationship with Electra: in a letter sent to the company, he requested that a general meeting be held to vote on resolutions to appoint both himself and Ian Brindle to the board of Electra.

A feud between the activist investor and Electra escalated for most of 2014, with Bramson's vehicle, Sherborne Investments, steadily building up its stake before requesting that three new directors (including Bramson) be appointed to the board of the listed private equity firm. Furthermore, Bramson expressed his intention to lead a strategic review of the company following the board appointments.

The demands were shunned by Electra's board in July 2014, which argued Bramson and the other proposed directors wouldn't be independent, and highlighted Electra's outperformance as proof that the current governance was not detrimental to the business. Sherborne subsequently called for a shareholder vote on its propositions in September 2014 – around 62% of shareholders voted against Sherborne's motions.

Although vindicated, the private equity firm announced its intention to conduct a review of its fee arrangements, capital structure and distribution policies.

In a note issued this morning, analyst Stifel stated it expects a second vote to be closer than the one held in 2014. Sherborne Investments is now holding slightly less than a third of Electra Private Equity (29.3%), against 25% back in February and less than 20% a year ago.

Unsurprisingly, Electra's board remains hostile to Sherborne's requests and used the same arguments it put forward in 2014 to oppose Bramson's claims. "The board of Electra believes that the interests of all shareholders in Electra, including Sherborne, are best served by maintaining a wholly non-executive and independent board and a clear mandate to the manager, Electra Partners," chairperson Roger Yates said in a statement. "Board representation for Sherborne would clearly undermine that independence and create a high degree of uncertainty for both the portfolio companies and Electra Partners, leading to a substantial risk of value destruction."

In addition, Electra highlighted that Bramson had failed to explain what his planned review of the business would cover or how he would implement any changes to Electra's strategy.

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• Electra Private Equity