Neil Woodford, the star UK fund manager who has suffered losses on his stakes in Purplebricks and Provident Financial, could be set for a boost after the latter was approached for a takeover.

Non-Standard Finance, a retail loan provider, has made a £1.3bn all-share hostile bid for the sub-prime lender, the company said in a statement on February 22. Woodford is on both sides of the deal: he owns around 25.3% of Provident and 25% of Non-Standard Finance.