Arun Sarin must be cursing his luck. The Vodafone head had just seen off an investor rebellion last year and quelled dissenters.

Enter the former Marconi deputy chairman John Mayo with a few like-minded individuals waving £200,000 of shares which, under an untested part of the Companies Act, gets him a place at the annual meeting.

His plan is to revitalise the balance sheet by listing new shares linked to Vodafone’s US mobile operation, Verizon, and bonds worth 65p a share.