LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian activist investor West Face Capital on Thursday disclosed a 5 percent stake in FirstGroup (>> FirstGroup plc) after the British transport company's shares fell more than 5 percent.

FirstGroup on Thursday reported a 23 percent rise in annual profit, helped by better performance from its U.S. business, but a cautious outlook and a decision not to pay a dividend sent its shares into retreat.

Toronto-based West Face has previously taken stakes in companies such as Maple Leaf Foods (>> Maple Leaf Foods Inc) and SNC-Lavalin Group (>> Snc-Lavalin Group Inc).

(Reporting by Simon Jessop and Maiya Keidan; Editing by David Goodman)

Stocks treated in this article : Maple Leaf Foods Inc, Snc-Lavalin Group Inc, FirstGroup plc