Northern Rock’s two largest shareholders will force the troubled bank to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) next month, in an attempt to halt a fire sale of the company’s assets.

RAB Capital and SRM Global, two hedge funds with a 6 per cent stake each in Northern Rock, wrote to Bryan Sanderson, the bank’s chairman, yesterday to demand an EGM.

The funds plan to use the EGM to call for a shareholder vote on an amendment to the bank’s articles of association that would prevent the company from disposing of more than 5 per cent of its assets without approval from investors.

Investors with more than 10 per cent of a company can force through an EGM, which must be held about 21 days later. Northern Rock refused to comment on the request yesterday.

The bank and its advisers are weighing up a number of bids for all or part of the company. The bank has admitted that all the bids undervalue the company. The Treasury, which permitted Northern Rock to borrow an unlimited amount from the Bank of England to keep its business afloat during the credit crisis, is keen for a quick sale.

However, the funds’ move yesterday was seen as a warning signal to the Rock board that it should not ignore shareholders’ interests in its decision or it risks an angry response.

Instead of an auction that would result in the stricken company being won by an external bidder, RAB and SRM want Northern Rock to consider raising equity capital. RAB, whose chief executive Philip Richards is one of the City’s most successful fund managers, said yesterday: “[It] should approach its shareholders as part of a comprehensive solution.”

SRM, the hedge fund run by Jon Wood, the former UBS trader, said that the auction would result in a “fire sale” of the bank’s assets. His fund said: “We believe that Northern Rock is a valuable company with a high-quality asset base, as has been demonstrated by the many expressions of interest.”

Advisers to the bidders complained yesterday that it was still not clear when they might receive a response from Northern Rock to their proposals.

A source close to Northern Rock said that the bank and its advisers were pressing ahead with the sale as quickly as possible, but added that it could be several weeks or months before a deal was announced. “There’s a strong desire for progress, but it’s going to be a long time until we get a deal done,” the source said.

He said that pressure on the bank was intensifying in light of the growing political crisis surrounding Rock and the need to provide reassurance to retail savers that all efforts were being made to resolve the situation swiftly. “There’s a strong desire to get some PR momentum - in a large part because of the retail element there’s a desire to provide clarity and certainty. The sense is that we are going to want to make quick, positive strides forward.”

The source said that the plan had been to receive bids and move forward “on all fronts”, keeping all options open. However, there was now a greater emphasis being placed on speed and it was likely that the bank’s advisers would shortlist the favoured bidders and push ahead with them exclusively.

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