Unilever Superannuation Fund has sharply criticised Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) for allowing the individual manager responsible for running its portfolio to take unusually large positions in industry sectors.

The criticism of Alistair Lennard, the MLIM fund manager responsible for Unilever's portfolio, came on the first day of court hearings in the £130m (€207m) lawsuit launched by Unilever against MLIM.