Britain’s boardrooms have been warned to expect a further wave of investor activism.

A report released yesterday by Lazard, the boutique investment bank, showed there were 235 new initiatives started by activist shareholders around the world last year, a 36% increase on 2021.

Europe, including Britain, is proving to be an increasingly attractive hunting ground for corporate raiders, with 60 new campaigns launched in 2022, the most ever for the region in a single year. And the UK remained the European market of choice for activists and accounted for 38% of targets during the year.