Activist investor Nelson Peltz gets a taste of his own medicine

A fund run by the activist billionaire shaking up Unilever has found itself in the crosshairs of its own top shareholders.

Trian Investors 1 (TI1), listed on the London Stock Exchange and managed by Nelson Peltz’s firm Trian Partners, is under siege from Invesco, Janus Henderson, Staude Capital and Pelham Capital.

The four investment firms, who also have the support of Aegon Asset Management, have joined forces to call for an overhaul of TI1’s board.

They said their aim was to achieve ‘an acceptable standard of governance and to restore the trust and confidence of the independent shareholders’ in TI1.

The intervention is a blow to 79-year-old Peltz who is in the middle of an activist battle with consumer goods giant Unilever and recently won a seat on the board, sparking speculation he could seek to break it up.

But he now faces a shareholder backlash of his own. The rebel group was angered by several changes which TI1 made to the way the business operated at its shareholder meeting last year.

Trian was accused of having a ‘conflict of interest’ since the changes would increase the amount of money it makes from managing TI1.

Shareholders want to remove TI1’s chairman Chris Sherwell and non-executive directors Simon Holden and Anita Rival.

They suggest investment veteran Robert Leggett, and Miles Staude of Staude Capital as replacements.