The Buiness Secretary suggested a number of changes to the Takeover Code in a speech at Mansion House last night but had to steer clear of implying protectionism. His recommendations:

* Raising the required level of shareholder support for a takeover from 50pc to 66%.
* Lowering the requirement for disclosure of share ownership during a bid from 1pc to 0.5pc so “companies can see who is building up stakes on their register.”
* Giving bidders less time to “put up or shut up” so that “the phoney takeover war ends more quickly”.
* Requiring bidders to set out publicly how they intend to finance their bids “not just on day one, but over the long term, and their plans for the acquired company, including details of how they intend to make cost savings.”
* Requiring greater transparency on advisers’ fees and incentives.

He also made this pointed dig at advisers and traders: “Nobody believes that poorly performing management should be protected. But the open secret of the last two decades is that mergers too often fail to create any long-term value at all, except perhaps for the advisers and those who arbitrage the share price of a company in play. A lot of M&A advisers must be sleeping badly in that knowledge. Or maybe not.”

According to CityAM, the business secretary also gave a rousing defence of the City, saying it should be recognised as the “heart of our economic life”. Which is a comforting. His stance in October 2008 suggested that Britain required a new economic framework under which the City would wield less power. A source close to him at the time said: “He has not changed his free-market spots but he has benefited from his four-year continental experience.”

Nicely Mandy.