Arun Sarin, the chief executive of Vodafone, came under renewed pressure ahead of the company's July annual meeting today after the John Mayo-backed rebel shareholder group stalking the world's largest mobiles group laid out radical plans to release up to £38 billion of value.

Glen Cooper, the chairman of Efficient Capital Structures — bankrolled by Mr Mayo's Beehive Capital investment fund — called on Mr Sarin to issue a "tracking" share in order for shareholders to benefit from Vodafone's 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless in the US.

The former Ansbacher corporate financier and the man who floated Manchester United football club reckons the Verizon stake is worth 55p to 75p a share for Vodafone's price.

Mr Cooper, who has written to shareholders with the plan and plans to meet top 20 investors over the coming days, also wants Vodafone to issue bonds worth a further 65p a share.

Mr Cooper told The Times that Vodafone had cancelled at very short notice a meeting scheduled for later today with Mr Sarin and his finance director Andy Halford. He said he had telephoned Sir John Bond, the chairman, on Monday, in order not to appear a "bushwacker".

Mr Cooper told The Times that, while no money would change hands over the bond deal, shareholders would collect the interest repayments and Vodafone would save £600 million a year in tax.

He said the moves, which effectively amounted to Vodafone handing the Wireless stake to shareholders, would overcome Vodafone's worries about tax efficiency.

Yesterday ECS tabled four special resolutions for a vote at next month's meeting, using an obscure section of the Companies Act.

ECS holds Vodafone shares worth only £200,000.

Mr Cooper said: "We are not seeking management change. We don't seeking to put anyone on the board or have anyone removed. We don't seek any changes over business strategy. What we want them to do is to smarten up this balance sheet and make it look more modern. We think shareholders are entitled to that."

He described Vodafone as a "utility-like" business and said that the two moves combined should free up a minimum of £17 billion and an aggregrate of £27 billion of value.

The idea behind ECS's plan for Vodafone was conceived by Rupert Darwall, a former special adviser to Norman Lamont who has also worked for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Mobile.

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