Scottish Provident investment manager, Mr John Lawrie, has launched a strong attack on the bid from Dr Tony O'Reilly and Mr Peter Goulandris' bid for Fitzwilton, stating that if successful it will give them control of the company at a knock-down price. Mr Lawrie said the bid, like GE's bid for Woodchester, would do little for shareholders. "It must be galling for Fitzwilton shareholders; first the dominant shareholders who have been well placed to sort the company out over many years did not do so; then they discouraged another party from stepping in; and now they put together a proposal which gives them the whole company at less than could be raised by selling it off in bits. To add insult to injury, the independent directors weakly recommended it" he said yesterday.

Commenting further on the Fitzwilton bid, he highlighted the company's "miserable" performance, stating that it was surprising it had not become prey to a predator a long time ago. The Dunne's interest in the group however, he said would have frightened potential bidders off.

"The nature of these bids in bull market conditions is, in one respect, slightly odd. When equities are cheaply valued, as in 1992 and 1993, companies are quite commonly taken over on terms that are very favourable to the bidding companies. But the motivation behind take-over when markets are strong is usually different and it is rarely possible for companies to be cheaply acquired in relation to their underlying assets."

In Ireland, the bidding company has to achieve 80 per cent approval before it can compulsorily acquire a minority is relatively low and should possible be reviewed. Dr O'Reilly and his consortium have already received acceptances in respect of 204.85 million ordinary shares, representing 74.5 per cent of Fitzwilton.