Activist investor Sherborne Investors has continued to build its stake in F&C Asset Management acquiring a further 22.8 million shares in the past 24 hours.

The move gives the group, which is headed by Alain Grisay (pictured) control of some 9.7% of the group's shares.

The investors, led by American private equity boss Edward Branson and the former head of PriceWaterHouse UK chief Ian Brindle, have a history of stake building until it can put a member on the board to encourage a turnaround story.

Announcing its purchase the group stressed that it may continue to build its stake but that it would not overpay, warning that if the price rises to far it will withdraw.

Shares in F&C were trading at 66.75p. Yesterday they rose by 22.33%.

Profit from a turn-around

Sherborne, which was founded in 1986 by Edward Bramson, has a very focused strategy whereby it targets one company at a time. It typically seeks to join the board of directors or engage with the company in a bid to profit from turn-around opportunities.

In one of its most high profile successes to date, the Guernsey-based firm, which raised £105 million from its AIM-listing in March, succeeded in taking control of UK telecoms firm Spirent in 2006 after ousting its chairman and two non-executive directors in a boardroom coup.