Britain’s equity market is shrinking
Its strong shareholder culture makes it a target for buy-outs
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2019/10/articles/main/20191019_fnd010.jpg)
A FEW MONTHS ago Trian, a hedge fund, revealed that it had built a 6% stake in Ferguson, a London-listed company that supplies the building trade. Trian is run by Nelson Peltz, who has a long history as the sort of activist investor who buys stakes in firms and then uses his influence over management to boost the share price. Ferguson makes most of its profits in America. Yet its shares traded at a discount to peers listed there. Perhaps something could be done to change this.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “From A-list to delist”
Finance & economics October 19th 2019
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