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(In first paragraph, corrects Yates's position to Chairman)
* Electra chairman criticizes Bramson's track record
* Dismisses claims of underperformance
* Showdown set for general meeting on Oct. 6
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The chairman of British privateequity firm Electra has hit back at Edward Bramson,saying the activist investor's criticism of its investmentrecord "beggars belief" and questioning his revamp proposals.
Bramson's investment vehicle Sherborne said in a letter toElectra shareholders last week that a reorganisation of thecompany could create more than 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion)of shareholder value, effectively doubling the company's marketcapitalization.
But Electra, which traces its origins back to 1935 and whoseholdings range from holiday parks operator Park Resorts to fineart materials supplier Daler-Rowney, called into question theproposals, saying they lacked detail and criticizing Bramson'strack record.
"When someone sets out their stall as being some kind ofoperational messiah, we feel the need to examine that," ElectraChairman Roger Yates said in a telephone interview with Reuterson Monday, taking particular issue with Bramson's call for morepeople with private equity experience on the board.
"We think we have the right balance on the board. He says wehave insufficient operational expertise - I personally take thatas a bit of an insult," Yates said.
Yates also cited Bramson's position in F&C Asset Management,saying that despite a sharp rise in share price the firm hadunderperformed its peers during his tenure. Bramson led aboardroom coup at the company in 2011.
Sherborne declined to comment.
PASSIVE INVESTORS
Media-shy Bramson, who has a history of taking on themanagement of companies he considers to be underperforming, alsotook a stake in private equity fund 3i Group Plc lastyear, selling out in December. However he remained a passiveinvestor and never approached management.
Both Electra and Sherborne will be meeting shareholders overthe next few weeks in attempts to woo support ahead of an Oct. 6general meeting forced by Bramson.
In its letter, Sherborne criticized Electra's fees andcompared its performance unfavourably with the FTSE 250 index ofmid-range stocks, rather than the FTSE All-Share index typically used by management.
But Electra said its fees were in line with the market andit had delivered an annualised return on equity of 14 percentover the 10 years to the end of March 2014, hitting its targetof between 10 and 15 percent.
It added that it had outperformed the Morningstar index oflisted private equity funds and was in the top third of unlistedfunds with a similar mandate from the 2006 vintage.
"How you characterize that as unsuccessful really beggarsbelief," Yates said.
Yates acknowledged Sherborne's criticism of Electra'sborrowing costs, saying there had been some "cash drag" onperformance, but that the debt was justified given the financialenvironment of the time.
Electra shares were trading up 0.8 percent at 2,686 pence by0946 GMT. The stock hit a record high of 2,785p in early Marchin the wake of Sherborne's stake first becoming public.
($1 = 0.6121 British Pounds) (Editing by Mark Potter and David Holmes)
