Edward John Michael Bramson (born March 1951)[1] is the chief executive officer and principal at Sherborne & Company Incorporated,[2] described as an "activist investor" and "corporate raider". Bramson launched his first private equity firm, Hillside Capital,[3] in New York in 1977, and launched Sherborne Investors as a "turnaround investment firm" in 2003.[4]
Bramson has developed a distinctive modus operandi. He "typically" buys a sizeable stake, demands a seat on the board, and then pushes "for cost-cuts, payouts to shareholders and other changes that boost returns".[5] Bramson's funds are estimated to have generated average annual returns of 22.8% in recent years.[5] Among the companies targeted by Sherborne have been Electra Private Equity,[6][7][8] and fund manager F&C Asset Management.[9]
On 19 March 2018 Sherborne Investment Management announced that it had acquired the voting rights to 5.16% of Barclays shares effectively making Sherborne the bank's fourth largest shareholder behind the Capital Group, the Qatar Investment Authority and Blackrock.[10] Sherborne's investment came after Barclays had announced a string of losses in the previous year including a £1.9 billion net loss on Payment Protection Insurance settlements and a £2.5 billion write-off of its African Business.[11] As of August 2020 Sherborne's stake in Barclays stood at 5.9%.[12]
In April 2019, Sherborne Investors LP wrote to Barclays shareholders asking for their support in its request to vote Mr. Bramson onto Barclays PLC's board as a non-executive director.[13] Central to this request was Sherborne's contention that Barclays' Corporate and Investment Bank ("CIB") under-performed peers producing a -29% total return while UK comparables returned +3% and other CIB peers returned +74%.[13]
In May 2019, Barclays' shareholders voted against Bramson joining the board (only 12.8% of shareholders backed his proposal).[14]
Bramson was born in Paddington, London to a British mother and American father and emigrated to New York in 1975.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Edward John Michael BRAMSON". Companies House. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ Edward J. Bramson Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Bramson leaves F&C with double his investment". CityAM. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Sean (24 March 2018). "Raider Ed Bramson leaves Barclays to sweat over his biggest bet yet". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Edward Bramson: the quiet activist barging into Barclays". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Edward Bramson revives Electra board seat campaign". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Bow, Michael (7 October 2011). "City activists smell the scent of success: Edward Bramson's showdown at Electra follows battles over Alliance Trust and John Menzies | City A.M". Cityam.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Russell Lynch. "Activist investor Edward Bramson ready for new showdown with Electra - Business News - Business - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Quinn, James (9 March 2013). "Rainmaker: Edward Bramson and 3i - a strange private equity story". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ Martin, Will. "An activist investment fund just became one of Barclays' biggest shareholders — and it could signal big changes". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Barclays PLC FY 2017 Results Announcement" (PDF). Barclays. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
- ^ "Edward Bramson resumes activist campaign against Barclays". CityAM. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ a b LP, Sherborne Investors Management. "Sherborne Investors Management LP Letter to Shareholders of Barclays PLC". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Barclays sees off rebel investor Bramson". 2 May 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Raider Ed Bramson leaves Barclays to sweat over his biggest bet yet". the Guardian. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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