British Land rebel Laxey raises stake

A rebel shareholder trying to force changes at British Land has informed the company it has tripled its stake in the property group to 9 per cent ahead of today's vote on proposals to shake up the company.

British Land said Laxey Partners now had an interest in 9.0 per cent of the company's shares, compared with 2.9 per cent earlier last week.

Laxey Partners has proposed resolutions for the annual shareholders' meeting calling for management changes and up to £1bn of share buybacks.

British Land has resisted Laxey's moves, and other shareholders have said they do not expect the proposals to be passed. The company has rejected Laxey's plans as a bid for a "fast buck", a source close to the company said.

Laxey could not be immediately reached for comment.

British Land is expected to face criticism of its management style and structure at the AGM. Many other shareholders are not expected to support Laxey's plans but are likely to voice their gripes against British Land, emboldened by the Laxey move and by increasing scrutiny of corporate governance in the wake of US accounting scandals.

Investor concern is believed to centre on the power concentrated in the hands of chairman and managing director John Ritblat, and worries over links between other British Land directors and the company's auditors and advisers.

Though there is no suggestion of impropriety, independent research firms have joined in the criticism of the management and queried its advisers. The Pensions Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) advised members to vote against the re-election of Mr Ritblat on the grounds that he wields too much power. The firms have also advised against the Laxey plans.

Pirc and the National Association of Pension Funds also questioned the independence of non-executive directors Michael Cassidy and Derek Higgs. Mr Cassidy is a non-executive director at UBS Warburg, an adviser to British Land. Mr Higgs is an adviser to UBS Warburg.