Activist investor calls for heads to roll at BP

An activist investor has launched a scathing attack on BP and called for Chairman Helge Lund to resign over what he describes as the energy giant’s “disgraceful” performance.

The London-listed company has fallen behind British rival Shell and US oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil, which have doubled down on profitable fossil fuels, while BP has focused on renewable energy.

Shareholders have been disappointed by the green strategy, which has made BP an outlier among its energy peers.

Recent reports suggest that new CEO Murray Auchincloss is planning to refocus on oil and gas following pressure from investors to improve BP’s share price and earnings. But the FTSE 100 firm has refused to confirm this and will not tell shareholders about its strategy until February.

Bluebell Capital Partners, a London-based hedge fund, has written to the board twice in recent weeks to attack the company’s management and approach.

Co-founders Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco described BP’s performance as “unacceptably terrible.” The company, which owns a small undisclosed stake in BP, welcomed reports that the company was planning to abandon fossil fuel reduction targets.

In its latest letter, Bluebell criticized directors for waiting to inform investors about its green strategy, calling the delay “indefensible and absolutely scandalous”.

Bluebell successfully campaigned for the ouster of Hugo Boss’ chief executive in 2020 and helped topple the head of French consumer goods giant Danone a year later.

But the company sold its stake in Glencore after it unsuccessfully pushed to oust Chief Executive Gary Nagle this year.

He has recently set his sights on private equity giant BlackRock, campaigning for the dual role of CEO and chairman, held by billionaire co-founder Larry Fink, to be split in two.

Now the hedge fund, which has only been around for five years, has embarked on an audacious David and Goliath attack against one of the world’s largest oil companies and two highly respected boardroom titans.

He called for Lund, one of Europe’s leading industrialists who has chaired BP for five years, to resign. The Norwegian also chairs Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, maker of the weight-loss drug Ozempic. He was previously CEO of BG Group before merging with Shell in 2016.

The hedge fund urged independent director Amanda Blanc, also chief executive of insurer Aviva and a highly respected figure, to resign.

“BP should immediately present an updated strategic plan,” Bluebell said. ‘Waiting until the release of the 2024 full year results is a waste of time and creates the false impression that this update is business as usual.

‘The update must be a clear recognition of the board’s failure. Meanwhile, company sources appear to clearly and unacceptably leak information of a regulated nature to the press in an effort to calm the market and “buy more time.” Given the continued evidence of an extremely poorly managed company, we see no other option than the removal of the chairman and lead independent director.’

A spokeswoman for the oil giant said: “As a listed company, BP fully complies with its legal and regulatory obligations.”

Bluebell is a small organization tackling big goals from its headquarters in Belgravia, London. The hedge fund, founded in 2019, has become a thorn in BP’s side after launching a campaign against its green strategy a year ago.

It came after former boss Bernard Looney, who resigned last year after misleading the board about his relationships, introduced targets to cut BP’s oil and gas production. It initially said fossil fuel production would be cut by 40 percent by 2030, before reducing the target to 25 percent. Auchincloss reportedly plans to eliminate the target entirely. BP has not confirmed the reports.

“The failure of the current strategy is ultimately reflected in the embarrassing performance of BP’s share price relative to its peers,” Bluebell said.

The Mail on Sunday understands that BP has met Bluebell twice, one of which Lund attended. He is said to believe that Bluebell’s views are not widely shared among its investors.

“From our extensive and active engagement with our shareholders, there is no significant support for Bluebell’s position,” the BP spokeswoman said.