For a man under pressure, Jurgen Hintz, Novar's chief executive, is calm. Novar, the mini-conglomerate that spans intelligent building systems, aluminium extrusion and security printing, has been steadily trimming non-core activities and returning money to shareholders for the past five years. Ten businesses worth around £720m (€1.1bn) have been sold, the company's original seven divisions have been cut back to three, and £571m paid out to shareholders via buybacks and dividends since Hintz became chief executive of the former Caradon and declared that he would restructure the business "every year, forever".

But the pace of change is not fast enough for certain shareholders. UK Active Value, Novar's largest shareholder, has built up its stake to 15% over the past 18 months, and continues to press for faster and more dramatic action from Novar's management.