Restructuring companies is private equity's bread and butter. So it is somewhat ironic that UK private-equity doyen 3i Group faces pressure to put its own house in order. Activist hedge fund Laxey Partners is pushing for a new strategy now that chief executive Michael Queen is stepping down. The incoming boss should look at different ways to boost returns.

3i's investors have good cause for complaint. Its share price is languishing at levels seen in mid-2009. In recent months, it has traded at discounts of as much as 40% to net asset value. A boom year hangover of debt and pricey investments still weighs on 3i's shares. Last year, it wrote the value of its equity stake in services group Enterprise - acquired in 2007 - down to zero. 3i argues cost-cutting, debt repayments and wiser investments are gradually repairing the damage. But Laxey wants cash from the companies it sells returned to shareholders until the discount to NAV is removed.