Sir Nigel, already at the centre of two blue-chip takeover attempts, launched the bid through Pendragon, the £555 million car retailer that he chairs.

Even before yesterday’s bid, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) had raised concerns about the “potentially conflicting appointments” of Sir Nigel, who is also chairman of Boots and of Pilkington, and deputy chairman of Barclays. A spokesman for Sir Nigel said last night that the powerful shareholder group had since “unreservedly apologised” to him for implying that he sits on too many boards.

Shares in Reg Vardy, which has 100 dealerships, mainly in northeastern England, soared more than 10 per cent to 730p on news of the “unsolicited” Pendragon approach at 750p a share. The dealership, founded in 1923 by the father of Sir Peter Vardy, the current chief executive, said that discussions were continuing. The indicative price values Sir Peter’s 28 per cent family holding at £118 million.

The bid approach is the latest in a flurry of takeover activity, which has included Boots’s planned £7 billion merger with Alliance UniChem and a £2 billion bid for Pilkington from Japan’s Nippon Sheet Glass Company.

Shares in Pendragon, the only retailer of Cadillacs in Britain and the biggest distributor of Harley Davidson motorcycles outside America, leapt more than 10 per cent to 467¾p yesterday. Robert Brent, an analyst with KBC Peel Hunt, said that a tie-up with Reg Vardy would offer Pendragon synergies and cost savings and plug the gap in its geographical coverage.

Other British companies facing bids include Workspace, the small-business landlord; P&O, the ports and ferry group; SkyePharma, the drug company; and Westbury, the housebuilder.

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