Bramson will dial down attack on Barclays

THE corporate raider targeting Barclays will tell shareholders he is toning down his siege on the bank in the coming months, after losing his battle for a board seat earlier this year.

Edward Bramson will hold a series of meetings with Sherborne’s top investors over the coming weeks after Barclays reports its third-quarter results next week. The New York-based activist, who runs Sherborne Investors, is expected to tell them that he plans to ease his high-profile campaign against Barclays after failing to force through major cuts in its investment bank. One person aware of Mr Bramson’s plans said instead of continuing to fight for an overhaul, the financier will “sit there for six months and do nothing”.

The 68-year-old’s failure to push through change at Barclays will be seen as a blow to his credibility, after he won a loyal following through previous successes at firms such as private equity outfit Electra and fund company F&C Asset Management.

Mr Bramson sent a letter to his shareholders last month arguing that he still believes Barclays has potential to be an “excellent investment if the board were to exhibit greater business acumen”. But in the letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, he also admits he now intends to allow Barclays’ chairman Nigel Higgins to make his own plans.

Mr Bramson controls a 5.5pc stake in Barclays through his Guernsey C fund, which is in turn backed by a string of high-profile names including Aviva Investors, Schroders and Invesco.

The investment in Barclays has proved costly so far. Mr Bramson disclosed his holding in March last year and was reportedly hoping to double the lender’s share price.

Instead the stock has dropped by more than a fifth, knocking almost £400m off the paper value of Sherborne’s initial holding.