The AA insurance and rescue service is vulnerable to activists because of its below-par performance ALAMYDozens of Britain’s biggest companies are at risk of being besieged by activist investors because they are generating lacklustre returns for shareholders, a leading City stockbroker has warned. Centrica, the £5.1 billion business behind British Gas, Kingfisher, the B&Q owner, and Next, the £7.3 billion retailer, are among 54 vulnerable companies, Canaccord Genuity’s Quest team said yesterday. Quest publishes research, produced using its proprietary equity analysis tool, which is highly regarded in the City. The AA, the roadside recovery group, William Hill, the bookmaker, and TP Icap, the interdealer broker, are also on a list of businesses “whose returns seem to be stuck in perpetual decline and are ripe for potential activist intervention”. Shareholder activism was traditionally an American phenomenon but has become common in…

Source: The Times July 22, 2019 23:03 UTC