US activist attacks Just Eat

AN AMERICAN activist investor has launched a scathing attack on Just Eat and called for an overhaul.

Alex Captain, a founder of Cat Rock Capital, said the food delivery company was ‘the worst-performing public equity in online food delivery globally’.

In an open letter to the board, he demanded Just Eat – which crashed out of the FTSE 100 in a recent reshuffle – sell assets and slash pay for top executives. Captain also accused the board of setting pay targets that were ‘remarkably undemanding’. His fund holds a 2pc stake in Just Eat, however shares have fallen by nearly 30pc this year.

He urged the board to put together a three-year plan to which pay could be linked.

Captain also claimed pay for chief executive Peter Plumb, who started in September 2017 and was paid £458,300, had been proposed using ‘flawed metrics that give management bonuses for taking actions that may actually destroy shareholder value’. He added: ‘Since Plumb became chief executive the company’s targets have been remarkably undemanding and have created little accountability for management to execute.’

A Just Eat spokesman said: ‘We have a clear strategy in place to deliver long-term sustainable value for our shareholders.

‘At our third quarter trading update, we said we were enjoying our best year to date, with revenues rising 44pc.’