THE largest investor in National Express has said it has the backing of another major shareholder in its campaign for a boardroom shake-up at the transport group.

American hedge fund Elliott Advisors, which has been lobbying National Express to consider a sale or break-up of the business, said it expected Spain’s Cosmen family to vote in favour of resolutions it has tabled for next month’s annual shareholder meeting.

The Cosmens are the second biggest investors in the bus and coach firm behind Elliott, with shareholdings of around 17.4% and 17.5% respectively.

Activist investor Elliott is proposing three non-executive directors for election at the AGM on May 10.

It said: “Elliott has had a number of discussions with representatives of the Cosmen family in relation to its proposals to appoint three new directors to the board of National Express and the credentials of the proposed candidates.

“Based on those discussions, Elliott expects that the Cosmen family and its nominees will vote their shares in favour of the resolutions.”

The news heaps further pressure on National Express, as together the investors hold a combined stake of nearly 35%.

Elliott needs 50% of votes from shareholders to be in favour of the resolutions.