An executive team backed by German bank West LB is set to take over housebuilder Swan Hill in a 拢46.8m hostile bid.
The group, which has named itself Raven Mount, has the backing of Schroeder Investment Management, which has a 14.9% stake in Swan Hill. It has also received letters of intent supporting the bid from three other major shareholders.

If these expressions of support are made irrevocable, the board would have the support of 52% of the company and would be able to replace the management team, led by chief executive John Theakston.

Raven Mount says Swan Hill is trading poorly, and has seemingly convinced shareholders that it can do a better job.

The deal would be paid for by directly replacing Swan Hill shares with Raven Mount shares.

It would also move the company from a full stock exchange listing, to the alternative investment market. This would mean that the new entity would face less scrutiny.

The Raven Mount board includes chairman James Hyslop and executive director Anton Bilton.