Update on Sherborne Investors Management

Electra Private Equity PLC

 

Update on Sherborne Investors Management

 

Electra Private Equity PLC ("Electra" or "the Company") received a request from
Mr. Edward Bramson of Sherborne Investors Management to meet with the Chairman
of Electra, Mr. Roger Yates.

 

On 24 July 2014, Mr. Yates, together with a fellow non-executive director Mr.
Geoffrey Cullinan, met with Mr. Bramson. At this meeting, Mr. Bramson requested
that three new directors be appointed to the Board of Electra. One of those new
directors would be Mr. Bramson and the other two, as yet unidentified, would be
nominated by him. Mr. Bramson also requested that, subsequent to their
appointment, he should be given a mandate to lead a strategic review of the
Company. No specific proposals were presented by Mr. Bramson.

 

The Board of Electra has carefully considered Mr. Bramson's request and has
decided to reject it.

 

The Board of Electra actively keeps the Company's strategy under regular
review, is of the opinion that the current strategy has delivered consistently
superior long-term returns for all shareholders and sees no reason to deviate
from this successful strategy.

 

Over the 10 year period to 31 March 2014, Electra has delivered a share price
total return of 268%, more than double the total return of the FTSE All-Share
(129% over the same period) and more than six times the total return for the
Morningstar Private Equity Index* (39% over the same period). The Company's
diluted NAV per share total return for the period is equivalent to a ten-year
annualised return on equity of 14%, at the upper end of our target range of
10-15%.

 

The Board of Electra has a long-standing policy of being comprised wholly of
independent non-executive directors. Mr. Bramson, representing a c.19%
shareholder in the Company, would not be independent. The Company's
consistently superior performance over the long term provides clear evidence to
support this policy of complete independence.

 

The Board has always listened, and will continue to listen, to the views of
shareholders consistent with enhancing long-term shareholder value. The Board
believes that maintaining an open dialogue with shareholders and a wholly
independent Board structure best enables the Board to consider the interests of
all shareholders without undue influence from any quarter.

Enquiries

Goldman Sachs International [phone]

Anthony Gutman

Alex Garner

Ken Hayahara

J.P. Morgan Cazenove [phone]

Michael Wentworth-Stanley

William Simmonds

Greenbrook Communications [phone]

Andrew Honnor

Charlotte Balbirnie

Matthieu Roussellier

* The Morningstar Private Equity Index is a bespoke index prepared by
Morningstar UK Limited reflecting the performance of 19 private equity
vehicles, excluding Electra, quoted on the London Stock Exchange.