Changes could start coming through fast at Grand Parade Investments (GPI), where some shareholders have long been frustrated by the wide discount applied to the underlying assets. It was apparent last year already — when board changes were initiated by a group of significant-minority shareholders — that GPI needed to deal more decisively with its underperforming operations. GPI recently opted to place loss-making fast-food ventures Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins into liquidation. That was not material to unlocking value, but it did signal that executives were willing to grasp the nettle to ensure cash leaks were stanched and that management was not distracted by noncore issues. A far more critical development is the recent sell-down in founder and executive chair Hassen Adams’s shareholding. This was coupled with the emergence of the highly regarded Value Capital Partners (VCP) as the new shareholder of reference … or influence, if you will. At the time of writing Adams still held 9.35%...

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