EDINBURGH funds giant Standard Life Investments has blasted as "insulting" a £941 million takeover approach by Bahamas-based currency trader Joe Lewis's Piedmont vehicle for pubs group Mitchells & Butlers.

David Cumming, head of UK equities at SLI, which has a 0.3% stake in M&B, also criticised the performance of directors at the owner of the All Bar One and Harvester chains.

He said: “Mitchells & Butlers has lost four chairmen in the last 18 months, and it is clear that the influence of Piedmont has impeded the board from acting in the interests of all shareholders.”

Mr Cumming continued: “Piedmont has now exploited this instability with a wholly unsatis-factory offer for the company.

“However, a more robust board would never have allowed this situation to occur.”

He added: “This offer is insulting to all other shareholders. The business is worth substantially more than the terms proposed.”

M&B’s board said it would not recommend Mr Lewis’s 230p-a-share offer, claiming it “significantly undervalues” the company.

However, investors were optimistic that Mr Lewis would return with an improved offer as they sent M&B’s shares up 15.4p, or 6.5%, to 251p. This values the company at just over £1bn.

M&B revealed yesterday that Piedmont, which owns 22.8% of the company, had initially approached M&B with a 224p-a-share offer in late August.

Mr Lewis’s ENIC vehicle at one point had a 25% interest in Rangers Football Club. It is the majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur.