An activist appearing on a shareholder register is no longer unusual. There are nearly 1,000 activist campaigns a year, largely in the US. But disputes between company boards and their biggest shareholders are less common — and can be harder to handle. Two UK companies, tiling retailer Topps Tiles and fast fashion group Boohoo, are in precisely that predicament.
That failed, although Shapland retired shortly afterwards. Such rows are associated with poor performance — not least because they tend to occur at challenged companies and absorb management time. Since the start of 2020, when MS Galleon became a shareholder in Topps Tiles, the stock has lost more than 45 per cent versus an 8 per cent rise in the FTSE All-Share index, although the retailer insists it has been gaining share in a tough market.