Food fight over Premier – it's hard to pick a winner

Activists want action on an overpaid chief exec, while loyalists plead for more time

The scrap at Premier Foods, owner of Mr Kipling cakes, Angel Delight and Bisto gravy, is turning into a mini classic. On one side, there is an angry Hong Kong hedge fund, Oasis, that wants to oust Premier's chief executive; it calls Gavin Darby overpaid and accuses him of overseeing five years of failure at a "zombie-like" company.

On the other side, the board argues there are no quick fixes and has rolled out two retailing lords to heap praise on Darby. Lord MacLaurin, who established Tesco as a force in the land in the 1980s and 1990s, called his achievements "hugely impressive". Lord Price, who was in charge of Waitrose for a decade, said the activist risks "destroying significant value, rather than creating it" if it succeeds.