Two of the biggest shareholders in Premier Foods have roundly criticised the food manufacturer for failing to engage with an American suitor and have questioned the board’s objectivity. Standard Life and Paulson & Co, who own more than 14 per cent of the shares in Premier Foods between them, said they were concerned that the group had snubbed a takeover approach from McCormick & Co, an American group. Both investors added that they were dismayed at the timing of Premier’s co-operation agreement with Nissin Foods, a Japanese group that stunned the market yesterday when it snapped up a 17.3 per cent stake in Premier. Nissin bought its shares from Warburg Pincus, previously Premier’s biggest investor, at 63p a share. Premier Foods, which makes Bisto gravy and Mr Kipling cakes, revealed on Wednesday that it had rejected two approaches from its bigger American rival, which sells sauces, spices and seasonings and is best known in the UK for its Schwartz brand. The most recent takeover attempt from McCormick was pitched at £495 million or 60p a share. David Cumming, head of equities at Standard Life, said: “Although we believe the 60p bid indicated by McCormick is too low, we remain open to a bid at a higher level. We expect the Premier Foods board, on behalf of its shareholders, to engage with McCormick and pursue this option to the full. “We note with some dismay the timing of Nissin’s acquisition of a stake in Premier Foods. In our view, this does not reflect we

Britons seem happy to carry on wearing their old jumpers and jeans. Figures reveal that spending on clothes and shoes is suffering its worst period of consecutive monthly falls in 25 years as consumers prefer leisure and eating out. The Office for National Statistics reported that clothing and shoe sales fell 3.4 per cent in February, making the sixth straight month of declines and the longest run of falls since October 1991. Melanie Richard, head of retail at the ONS, said stores had reported that sales of their spring and summer collections were hit by last month’s poor weather. Despite this, retailers appeared optimistic, according to separate figures from the CBI, which reported that clothing retailers expected an acceleration next month after sales volumes remained stable this month. Low inflation and a healthy jobs market would boost household spending, while the recent ref

A majority of Britain’s banks believe that leaving the European Union will damage their business, according to an industry lobby group. A survey by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) of its 147 voting members found that 57 per cent believe that Brexit would have a negative impact on them, with 26 per cent claiming the harm would be “significant”. Of the 74 that responded, 63.5 per cent claimed they did not have a position. However, 42 per cent then supported the principle of staying in the EU and 55 per cent believed that remaining would be in their best interests. Only one bank consistently backed leaving throughout the survey, while three said that exiting would have a “slight positive impact”. Support for the EU from within the City was not a surprise. Earlier this month, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said that finance jobs would be lost as banks moved businesse