Activist investor demands shake-up of Nottingham car retailer boardroom

Nottingham car dealership giant Pendragon is under fire from one its shareholders, which is demanding a shake-up of its boardroom following a collapsed £400m takeover deal.

Palliser Capital, which owns around 4% of Pendragon (the firm behind the Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and CarStore brands), is pushing to insert a trio of directors onto the car retailer’s board.

Palliser believes that Pendragon has been “distracted” by the failed takeover by Anders Hedin, the firm’s biggest shareholder, according to reports in The Telegraph.

The activist shareholder has recent form, having been behind the recent wholesale boardroom changes at listed oil firm Capricorn Energy.

The Telegraph says that Palliser submitted the letter to the Pendragon board in the middle of last week. It included demands for Pendragon chairman Ian Filby and chief executive Bill Berman to drive profits by refocusing on its higher margin car servicing business.

Hedin pulled back from the takeover in December, citing “challenging market conditions”. Pendragon shares immediately plummeted to around the 20p mark – and haven’t recovered.