Legal & General calls for removal of Capricorn Energy board

Asset manager Legal & General has called for Capricorn Energy's board to be given the boot, joining a growing revolt among key shareholders in the exploration and production firm.

Legal & General, which holds an almost 4% stake in the FTSE 250-listed company, said it believes that "a change of directors" at Capricorn was now "warranted", according to the Times.

The news comes just 24 hours after Palliser Capital, Capricorn's third-biggest shareholder, called for an extraordinary general meeting in order to lobby for the ousting of seven of the company's nine directors, including long-standing chief executive Simon Thomson.

Shareholders recently turned on Capricorn after it sought out a highly unpopular merger with Tullow Oil, which it later abandoned in September in favour of a merger with Israeli natural gas group NewMed Energy.

As of 1310 GMT, Capricorn Energy shares were down 0.64% at 247.20p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com