Just when you thought it was far too hot for anyone to engage in corporate hostilities, along comes a lively little skirmish in the sleepy world of investment trusts (Patrick Hosking writes). M&G is laying siege to UK Mortgages Ltd, a specialist investment trust which aims to squeeze returns from residential mortgages, and yesterday turned the screw a bit more by lifting the terms of a tentative all-cash bid to 70p per share, or £191 million.
London-listed UKML responded by saying the new offer still materially undervalued the company and its prospects, and refused to talk to M&G or open up its books for due diligence. It pointed out that the offer was “final” and could therefore only be increased if an alternative buyer