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鈥淗ow would I describe Sir Tom Hunter? Very direct, very able, very bright, very blunt.鈥�

This is the assessment of Richard Ratner, a retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, of Sir Tom Hunter, a Scottish entrepreneur who backed the 拢1.1bn purchase of McCarthy & Stone last year and who is now trying to take over Crest Nicholson.

Any snippet of information is useful: Hunter is not well known among housebuilders, despite his penchant for taking them over, and he is notoriously media shy.

Hunter only switched from retail and property investment to housebuilding with the McCarthy & Stone bidding war in the second half of last year. Having backed the winning consortium, Castle Bidco, through his company West Coast Capital, Hunter and that team are looking to repeat the trick with an 拢808m bid for Crest. After rejecting a lower offer, the Crest board said last Friday that they were minded to accept the revised bid (see page 19).

Ratner has followed Hunter throughout much of his career, including last year鈥檚 拢311m purchase of Wyevale Garden Centres. He insists Hunter is unusual for such a rich businessman 鈥� with a personal fortune of nearly 拢800m, Hunter is often cited as Scotland鈥檚 richest man 鈥� and is no asset stripper.

鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 sold a lot off,鈥� says Ratner. 鈥淗e鈥檚 only cut his losses at [card shop chain] Birthdays and The Gadget Shop. He鈥檚 in things for the long-term.鈥�

That should please John Callcutt, Crest鈥檚 former chief executive, who is believed to have fought off a takeover bid by Gerald Ronson鈥檚 Heron International in 2004-05 for one major reason: he didn鈥檛 want someone coming in who might make everyone redundant.

He keeps his profile low. What he does is back others. He
likes to stay in the background source close to hunter

When West Coast Capital buys a business it does not have the venture capitalist鈥檚 infamous five-year exit strategy. Because of his wealth, he has no financial institutions demanding immediate returns, so he can judge whether holding the asset over time will provide greater returns than an immediate sale.

A source close to West Coast Capital says: 鈥淭here鈥檚 nobody else to satisfy, so if the business is doing well, why leave it?鈥�

The source adds that Hunter is kicking himself for missing out on housebuilding until this point. He sees the industry as simply another asset class of property, which has rewarded him well since the start of the decade.

鈥淗e keeps his profile low,鈥� adds the source. 鈥淲hat he鈥檚 really doing is backing others; he likes to stay in the background.鈥�

Hunter also surrounds himself with high-profile figures who do enjoy the limelight. Nick Leslau, the latest tycoon in a family dynasty, is involved in the McCarthy & Stone and the Crest deals. This takes the pressure off Hunter, who tends to answer questions about his fortune with an embarrassed laugh.

He is no less discreet in deals. None of the executive team at McCarthy & Stone met him during negotiations, which were conducted through consultants.

So an air of mystery continues to surround Crest鈥檚 stalker. What can be said with confidence, though, is that he won鈥檛 look to break up his latest investments.