The Bradford-based supermarket chain Wm Morrison, with its unique ownership model that takes in a supply chain that stretches from farm and fishing fleet to table, holds a special place in the life of Britain.
And so the speed and naivety with which a feeble board at the supermarket group has unanimously approved a bid worth £6.3billion from a consortium led by private investment group Fortress is deeply disturbing.
Headed by former Tesco executive Andrew Higginson, Morrisons is accepting the buyer’s pledges to preserve the legacy of founder Ken Morrison.
This in spite of the presence within the bidding group of family-controlled Koch Real Estate, an offshoot of one of the US’s most notorious polluting companies and a backer of eccentric far-Right causes.