Billionaire Peltz to close London fund

ACTIVIST investor Nelson Peltz is winding up his London investment fund following a tussle with shareholders over the combative billionaire’s strategy.

Mr Peltz, who is known for his aggressive campaigns for change at companies including Procter & Gamble and Heinz, is closing Trian Investors I because a large number of investors want to exit.

The fund owns £420m of shares in businesses including Marmite-maker Unilever and the plumbing and heating distributor Ferguson.

Mr Peltz has come under pressure this year after two asset managers in which he owns big stakes called for an overhaul of Trian’s board.

Janus Henderson and Invesco tried to oust most of the board over governance concerns. Investors and the Trian board clashed after the fund tried to reinvest some of shareholders’ capital rather than returning the fruit of profitable stakes to investors.

Trian now plans to redeem no less than 95pc of each investors’ holding in the company by the end of June next year. The fund will unwind itself by handing investors shares in the businesses it backs, rather than cash.

Mark Thompson, the chairman, said the move represented a positive and sensible way forward. “The share redemption scheme recognises the significant potential future upside from the company’s core holdings,” he said.

Mr Peltz, 80, is reported to be worth about $1.6bn (£1.4bn) and is the father of Nicola Peltz, who married David and Victoria Beckham’s son Brooklyn in April.

He founded the New Yorkbased investment firm Trian. Trian Investors I has outperformed the FTSE 100 by 5.4 times since it floated in London in September 2018.