Wagamama's Hedge Fund Standoff Gets Spicier

After the hors d’oeuvre, the main course. It was a given that activist pressure on Restaurant Group Plc would ramp up sooner or later, after the owner of the Wagamama restaurant chain delivered an underwhelming strategic plan last month that sent the shares down 15%. The latest dish arrives with some fresh ingredients and a sharpness that will make it harder for the company’s leadership to resist the calls for change.

First, the forces arrayed against TRG have become more substantial. Seth Fischer’s Oasis Management Co., which opened its campaign in mid-February by urging an independent strategic review, said on Tuesday that it has almost doubled its stake in the underperforming London-listed company to 12.3%. That would make it the largest shareholder, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. The Hong Kong-based investment firm complained it had been rebuffed in earlier attempts to engage with the board. It is now carrying a bigger megaphone.