Andrew Pegge, a former Laxey Partners activist, has urged Abrdn Property Income (API) to scrap plans for a highly discounted all-share merger with Custodian Property Income (CREI) and opt for a managed wind-down he says will deliver a better result for shareholders.
Pegge, a former business partner with Laxey’s Colin Kingsnorth with whom he battled Alliance Trust, British Land and 3i Group, among others, from 2003 to 2012, holds 1m shares in API through Pop Investments, his Isle of Man investment company. This gives him a stake of just 0.26% in the real estate investment trust that has 381m shares in issue, according to Refinitiv data.
While that makes him a small investor in API, Pegge, 60, remains an activist, holding a seat on the board of Cuban property fund Ceiba Investments (CBA) where he has a more commanding 10% position.