LSE’s fifth biggest shareholder set to back TCI in doomed campaign

A crunch shareholder vote will take place on Tuesday to decide whether the chairman of the London Stock Exchange should stay or go
A crunch shareholder vote will take place on Tuesday to decide whether the chairman of the London Stock Exchange should stay or go

The London Stock Exchange’s fifth biggest investor is expected to be one of the few backers behind a campaign to oust the chairman this week. 

Lone Pine Capital, which is run by US billionaire Steve Mandel, is expected to support Sir Christopher Hohn’s TCI Fund Management in a vote on Tuesday that will decide LSE chairman Donald Brydon’s fate, sources told The Sunday Telegraph. 

The US hedge fund joins a minority of voices set to vote in favour of Mr Brydon’s immediate removal, among them Egerton Capital which has a 1.7pc stake in the group.

It is understood that TCI is no longer expecting victory. Support so far has weighed in the chairman’s favour, with sources telling The Sunday Telegraph that Standard Life Aberdeen also plans to vote against TCI’s motion to replace him. 

The LSE’s announcement that Mr Brydon would step down when his contract ends in 2019 has “taken the heat completely out of the situation”, a person briefed on the firm’s decision said. 

Sir Christopher Hohn has been on a campaign to oust London Stock Exchange chairman Donald Brydon over his handling of chief executive Xavier Rolet 
Sir Christopher Hohn has been on a campaign to oust London Stock Exchange chairman Donald Brydon over his handling of chief executive Xavier Rolet 

The Qatar Investment Authority, BlackRock and Aviva are also expected to vote against his immediate removal. One of the concerns over his exit is that the exchange would be left scrambling to fill its two top jobs at the same time.

Former chief executive Xavier Rolet was forced to leave a year earlier than planned last month after Sir Christopher’s campaign to keep him in the job escalated. 

The board’s senior non-executive director Paul Heiden would likely step into the chairman role if Mr Brydon was forced out, one source indicated.

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