Investors turn prickly over Pearson

UNHAPPY investors are turning up the heat on Financial Times owner Pearson. They want chief executive Dame Marjorie Scardino to look again at simplifying the media group's unwieldy structure and beef up performance across the board.

'It is self evident that [book publisher] Penguin is underperforming,' said Martin Cobb at Franklin Templeton, a US shareholder that owns 11% of the group. 'And the FT is a trophy asset that could get a very attractive price if it was placed for sale.'

Pearson insisted last week that American investors better understand the company - which has invested heavily in an education arm that sells textbooks to US schools.

Cobb says he is still supportive of the Pearson management, led for seven years by Scardino. Others do not share his enthusiasm. 'The temperature is rising. Marjorie's halo has certainly slipped,' said another City institution.

'I am not overly enamoured with the management,' added a third. All agree Pearson must do better in 2005 and look closely at sell-offs.

Scardino last week dismissed as 'mostly speculation' City talk that she was considering her departure once a new chairman had been appointed to replace Lord Stevenson. A company spokesman said: 'Pearson's prospects today are better than at any time in the past five years.'