Just Eat PLC (LON:JE) has come under attack by a shareholder demanding that the online takeaway firm address its “significant underperformance”.
US activist investor Cat Rock Capital, which holds a 2% stake in Just Eat, said the company has become one of the worst performing public equity in online food delivery.
In a letter to chairman Michael Evans and chief executive Peter Plumb, Cat Rock called on the board to offload non-core assets -- such as Brazilian online food platform iFood -- and to change “flawed metrics” on executive pay.
READ: Investors take bite out of Just Eat as it drops out of FTSE 100
“These unambitious targets and flawed incentive schemes have significantly damaged the value of the business and shareholder returns,” the investor said.
Shares in Just Eat have fallen more than 25% since the start of the year, which will see it fall out of the FTSE 100 at the next reshuffle.
Cat Rock said it was imperative that Just Eat publicly commits to an “achievable but appropriate” three-year plan to turn around the business and urged the group to link executive pay to performance.
Alex Captain, founder and managing partner of Cat Rock said: “Since Peter Plumb became chief executive in September 2017, the company’s targets have been remarkably undemanding and have created little accountability for management to execute.”
Just Eat warned on profits last month after investing heavily in a new delivery service, which includes its own network of drivers and cyclists, to help fend off competition from rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
READ: Just Eat’s investment in its delivery fleet expected to dent full-year profits
In late morning trading, shares were little changed at 575p.