Pendragon shares have sunk below 20p following the collapse of Mr Hedin’s takeover.Īctions by the board to return Pendragon's share price to 29p will be difficult, according to City sources. Motor Fuels Group, Britain’s biggest fuel forecourt operator, is finalising the refinancing of around £1.8bn with City sources saying the company is likely to be lumbered with double-digit percentage interest costs, for instance. It means even refinancing loans owed by healthy businesses is costly. The swoop later collapsed after the Hedin Group was unable to secure financing as soaring inflation and rising interest rates slammed the brakes on dealmaking.Ĭorporate debt markets remain in deep freeze with dealmakers continuing to harbour macro-economic concerns despite the UK’s surprise return to growth last week. Mr Hedin’s eponymous group struck a 29p-a-share take-private deal with the board in November that valued Pendragon at £400m.

The activist's decision to launch a campaign against Pendragon comes just weeks after masterminding the boardroom clearout of FTSE 250 oil firm Capricorn Energy.Ĭity sources said that Palliser had submitted a letter to the Pendragon board, led by chairman Ian Filby, in the middle of last week.Īside from board seats, the hedge fund wants Mr Filby and Pendragon’s chief executive Bill Berman to refocus on driving profitability at the business by expanding its higher margin car servicing operation. Palliser was formed in 2021 by James Smith, the former Hong Kong head of Wall Street activist Elliott Management.

In a letter last week, Palliser, which owns a roughly 4pc stake in Pendragon, claimed the board had become distracted by the failed takeover by Anders Hedin, the company's biggest shareholder. The group behind the Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and CarStore brands, has been hit with a demand from London-based Palliser Capital to insert three directors on the car dealer’s board. The car dealer Pendragon is under attack from an activist investor demanding a boardroom shake up in the wake of a failed £400m takeover bid.

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