Electra Private Equity makes total return of 35 percent, to review portfolio

(Reuters) - British buyout firm Electra Private Equity said on Friday that it made a total return of 35 percent in the year ended September, helped by M&A deals and record total investment returns.

The company said it would pay a second interim dividend of 110 pence a share and that a review of its portfolio would begin in June next year.

Electra undertook a strategic review, including of the performance reporting of its companies, after activist investor Edward Bramson, who heads Sherborne Investors, fought his way onto the board in 2015 after a bitter battle lasting almost two years.

The review decided to end its relationship with its portfolio manager - Epiris, formerly known as Electra Partners - with the formal separation due to take place in May next year.

The second phase of the strategic review will include a review of the investment portfolio after June 2017, once Epiris has left, and a review of the Electra's future capital allocation policy.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)