However, his tenure coincided with the height of the vogue for direct action at company shareholder meetings.

Of course, no one can force public company shareholders to sell to private equity on the cheap.

Company shareholders will have the legal right to block multimillion-pound pay deals for top company directors.

These were introduced so offeree company shareholders and other market participants could judge more easily the likelihood of an offer.

These will not be enforceable unless company shareholders approve them in advance, ideally at the preceding annual general meeting.