Edward Bramson

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.[6] Among the companies targeted by Sherborne have been Electra Private Equity,[7][8][9] and investment company Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] As of August 2020 Sherborne's stake in Barclays stood at 5.9%.[13]

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.[14] 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%.[14]

In May 2019, Barclays' shareholders voted against Bramson joining the board (only 12.8% of shareholders backed his proposal).[15]

Bramson was born in Paddington, London to a British mother and American father and emigrated to New York in 1975.[16]

References
  1. "Edward John Michael BRAMSON". Companies House. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. Edward J. Bramson Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  3. "Bramson leaves F&C with double his investment". CityAM. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  4. Farrell, Sean (2018-03-24). "Raider Ed Bramson leaves Barclays to sweat over his biggest bet yet". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  5. "Edward Bramson: the quiet activist barging into Barclays". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  6. "Edward Bramson: the quiet activist barging into Barclays". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  7. "Edward Bramson revives Electra board seat campaign". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  8. Bow, Michael (2011-10-07). "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 2015-05-02.
  9. Russell Lynch. "Activist investor Edward Bramson ready for new showdown with Electra - Business News - Business - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  10. Quinn, James (2013-03-09). "Rainmaker: Edward Bramson and 3i - a strange private equity story". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  11. Martin, Will. "An activist investment fund just became one of Barclays' biggest shareholders — and it could signal big changes". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  12. "Barclays PLC FY 2017 Results Announcement" (PDF). Barclays. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
  13. "Edward Bramson resumes activist campaign against Barclays". CityAM. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  14. LP, Sherborne Investors Management. "Sherborne Investors Management LP Letter to Shareholders of Barclays PLC". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  15. "Barclays sees off rebel investor Bramson". 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  16. "Raider Ed Bramson leaves Barclays to sweat over his biggest bet yet". the Guardian. 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
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