Electra board members resign after company shake-up

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - Electra Private Equity, which has been the focus of a campaign by activist investor Edward Bramson, said on Monday that board members Kate Barker and Francesca Barnes were resigning with immediate effect.

The resignations follow the appointments within the last two months of Neil Johnson as non-executive chairman and Bramson as interim chief executive.

Bramson, whose Sherborne Investors investment vehicle is the biggest shareholder in Electra (Tel Aviv: ELTR.TA - news) , fought a long and bitter campaign to join Electra's board as part of a plan to overhaul one of Britain's oldest private equity firms.

He won that battle in late November by getting a seat on the board, which opened the way for a root-and-branch review of Electra's operations.

Bramson has criticised Electra for a lack of openness and has said there is more value to be found in the company's portfolio, which includes the restaurant chain TGI Fridays in Britain.

Former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Barker, who was chairman of Electra's remuneration and nomination committee and senior independent director, had been interim chairman of the company until Johnson's appointment.

Barnes, former global head of private equity at UBS , was chairman of Electra's valuation committee.

Electra has hired a search firm to find two additional independent non-executive directors, one of whom will take the role of senior independent director, the firm said in a statement.

Josyane Gold also stood down as non-executive director earlier this month, while the firm has hired David Lis, former chief executive officer at Aviva Investors, and Paul Goodson, former managing director of Barclays Private Equity, as non-executive directors.

Electra also served notice on its investment manager Electra Partners (LSE: 0QOQ.L - news) last month, as part of its review.