Matt Peltz, son of activist investor Nelson Peltz, has taken his first disclosed public position through his new firm, Lost Coast Collective, building a stake in Intertek as the group weighs both a potential takeover and a strategic break-up, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The fund which Peltz Jr launched in 2025 after leaving Trian Fund Management, has accumulated a holding of more than 1% in the FTSE 100 company, valued at approximately £88 million, according to a recent filing.
The investment comes at a pivotal moment for Intertek, which is currently evaluating an improved takeover proposal from EQT. The Swedish buyout group recently raised its offer to £54 per share after an earlier bid was rejected by the company’s board.
Lost Coast indicated it supported management’s decision to turn down the initial approach, describing it as significantly below the company’s intrinsic value, though it declined to comment on the revised offer.
The position marks the first publicly known investment by Lost Coast, which manages under $1bn and was initially affiliated with Trian before becoming fully independent. Peltz is understood to have started building the stake last year as part of efforts to establish the firm’s activist strategy.
Prior to Intertek’s announcement of a strategic review earlier this month, Peltz had already engaged with management and advocated for a potential separation of the group’s energy and infrastructure division, either through a sale or demerger. Intertek confirmed on 14 April that it was exploring such options.
Discussions between the investor and the company have been described by sources as constructive, although Intertek has not publicly commented on the stake.
The company’s shares have gained around 10% over the past 12 months, supported in part by the emergence of takeover interest, and were trading at £49.81 following news that the board was considering EQT’s improved proposal. The stock had earlier come under pressure, falling sharply in March after weaker-than-expected forecasts in key business areas.
Before launching Lost Coast, Peltz spent nearly two decades at Trian, where he was involved in a number of high-profile activist campaigns, including a proxy contest at Walt Disney. He has also held board roles at companies such as Wendy’s.
