Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) saw its shares rise on Tuesday after media reports said an activist investor plans to push for a shareholder vote on the bank’s leadership.
The Guardian reported that Edward Bramson, who has spent about £900mln building a 5.5% stake in Barclays through his investment vehicle Sherborne Investors, told his own shareholders that a vote was necessary, given that “consistent engagement” with Barclays had failed to yield results.
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In a New Year letter to shareholders, seen by the newspaper, Bramson said: “It seems increasingly likely that, for any progress to be made on our concerns, we will be required to seek a shareholder vote to make changes in the composition of the board.”
Bramson has been jostling for a position on the Barclays board, having made a written proposal in September offering to become a non-executive director at the bank.
Barclays shares have tumbled by about third since 1 December 2015, when Jes Staley took over as its chief executive, although the bank’s performance is not out of line with its peers. In afternoon trading on Tuesday, Barclays’ shares were 2% higher at 158.48p.
The fresh pressure on the bank comes in the week a trial brought by the Serious Fraud Office against former Barclays executives over its 2008 capital raising is due to begin.
The bank’s former chief executive John Varley, former Barclays Wealth boss Thomas Kalaris, ex-investment banking chief Roger Jenkins and ex-European financial institutions head Richard Boath face charges over conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to the £12bn rescue packaged secured with investors, including Qatar, at the height of the financial crisis. All four executives have pleaded not guilty.