Sherborne determined to continue activist focus on Electra

Activist investor Sherborne Investors said on Wednesday that its net asset value had fallen in the first six months of the year due to a drop in the share price of Electra Private Equity of which the firm holds a 29.9% stake.

The company, the vehicle of the New York-based activist Edward Bramson, reported a net asset value per share of 50.70p as of 30 June, a significant decrease from the 154.99p it reported at the end of 2016, with the assets themselves totalling £159.5m, more than a 50% drop on the $487.5m it announced in December.

The plan is to continue holding the single investment as part of its activist strategy, whereby it invests in companies considered to be undervalued "as a result of operational deficiencies and which it believes can be rectified by the investment manager's active involvement, thereby increasing the value of the investment".

Cash and equivalents were £5.6m as of the half year period, down from the £10.9m it posted last year.

Earnings per share were 12.71p, versus the 0.65p loss over the same period last year.

Throughout the half, the company repaid HSBC a total of £20m towards the balance of its revolving loan facility before cancelling the line of credit.

As of 1315 BST, shares had dipped 3.85% to 50.00p.