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Activist hedge fund Coast Capital has issued a list of demands against First Group, including that it pull out of Britain's railways, split its UK and US assets and overhaul its board.

Coast, a top ten shareholder in First, has said the group should separate its US assets, which it claims have a "much higher independent valuation" than its UK assets, to generate £3bn in capital that could be used for reinvestment, debt reduction and pension top-ups.

Coast will pitch its five-point plan for a new strategy tomorrow.

In the US, First runs intercity coach services in North America, where it serves 43 states.

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General Meeting to be held at 2.00 p.m. on 25 June 2019 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, Holborn, London, WC2B 5DA

Train and bus company FirstGroup, which last week announced a break-up plan, has accused a rebel investor group of being an “opportunistic, self-interested player that is only focused on short-term gains”.

The Aberdeen-based company has agreed to hold a shareholder meeting on 25 June, despite issuing a strongly-worded rebuke to Coast Capital.

It said Coast, which owns 10% of FirstGroup’s shares. had plans which were “naive and vague assertions with no specific details around execution”.

The rebel shareholder wants to remove six board members and replace them with their own representatives.

FirstGroup said in a statement: “The directors strongly believe that the Coast Capital resolutions are not in the best interests of the company.”

The company last week put its Greyhound US coach business up for sale as part of an overhaul that Coast had been requesting.

New chief executive Matthew Gregory, who is one of the executives targeted by Coast, also announced a review of its bus and rail operations, stating that it had concerns with the “current balance of risk and reward” over bidding for more UK rail franchises.

The group will focus on First Student, the biggest provider of school transportation in the US with a fleet of 42,000 buses, and First Transit, a North American bus company.

FIRSTGROUP has launched a stinging attack on the US activist investor campaigning for the removal of its chairman and chief executive, branding its plans “inconsistent” and “irresponsible”

Coast Capital, the biggest shareholder in FirstGroup with a near 10-per cent stake, has mounted a public attack on the performance of the transport giant, claiming its current board has presided over a “track record of value destruction and under-performance”. It wants to remove six of the company’s eleven directors, including chief executive Matthew Gregory and chairman Wolfhart Hauser, and replace them with seven of its nominees.