Top investor castigates Unilever after failed £50bn bid for GSK arm

In a ‘postmortem’ letter to investors in his asset management business Fundsmith, Terry Smith attacked Unilever’s performance. Photograph: Justin Griffiths-Williams/Rex/Shutterstock

A leading Unilever shareholder has called the company’s failed £50bn offer for GSK’s consumer healthcare division a “near-death experience” and said management should focus on improving its core business – or step down.

Terry Smith, the founder of Fundsmith, lambasted Unilever in a “postmortem” letter to investors in his £29bn asset management business.