One of Lendlease’s largest shareholders says it could extract up to $4 billion by exiting overseas projects – a plan put to the property giant by an activist investor who is warning the company could fail without a major change to its strategy.

Allan Gray’s chief investment officer, Simon Mawhinney, said he had privately presented his analysis to Lendlease management last month, and agreed with much of what Tanarra Capital’s John Wylie has suggested in order to turn the company around.