Victoria Chemicals was under pressure from investors to improve its financial performance because of the accumulation of the firm’s common shares by a well-known corporate raider, Sir David Benjamin. Earnings had fallen to 180 pence per share at the end of 2007 from around 250 pence per share at the end of f2006. Morris thus believed that time was ripe to obtain funding from corporate headquarters for a modernization program for the Merseyside Work¬¬ - at least she had believed this until Greystock presented her with several question that had only recently surfaced.