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.[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
  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. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. 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.
  5. "Edward Bramson: the quiet activist barging into Barclays". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. "Edward Bramson revives Electra board seat campaign". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Quinn, James (9 March 2013). "Rainmaker: Edward Bramson and 3i - a strange private equity story". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. 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.
  11. "Barclays PLC FY 2017 Results Announcement" (PDF). Barclays. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
  12. "Edward Bramson resumes activist campaign against Barclays". CityAM. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  13. LP, Sherborne Investors Management. "Sherborne Investors Management LP Letter to Shareholders of Barclays PLC". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  14. "Barclays sees off rebel investor Bramson". 2 May 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  15. "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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