Redrow's chairman raises bid for group Steve Morgan, the chairman of Redrow, has raised his offer for the housebuilding company he founded more than 35 years ago as he seeks to win over investors keen to fight for a higher price. A bidding consortium led by Mr Morgan made an approach at 152p a share in August, which would have valued the housebuilder at £562m. But discussions are now taking place at around the 165p to 170p price range, according to people familiar with the company. IN Companies The original deadline for the potential bidders to make an offer or walk away came and went last Friday, and Redrow was on Thursday granted a further two-week extension. The bidding consortium of Mr Morgan's Bridgemere Securities, Penta Capital and Toscafund Asset Management already control 54 per cent of the company, making a rival offer unlikely. But investors, led by Fidelity, which owns 10.5 per cent of the company, had called the original offer "opportunistic" and were asking for a price of around 220p a share. One top 10 shareholder said: "There are going to be discussions over the next few days." Another said: "This could get quite heated. We are not happy with the situation. Shareholders also complained that Mr Morgan had not been clear about his plans when they supported an increase in his stake in the company above 30 per cent earlier in the year. Such a move needs shareholder consent to prevent an automatic takeover bid. Mr Morgan now has a 40 per cent stake in Redrow through his investment vehicle Bridgemere Securities. Mr Morgan, also the owner of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, founded Redrow in 1974 and floated it 20 years later. He left in 2000 but rejoined nine years later in a boardroom coup at the height of the financial crisis, which hit Redrow particularly hard. The company has been a recovery story since then, pinning its growth on high-margin premium family homes that led it to £43m pre-tax profit in 2012, up 70 per cent on the previous year. However, like other housebuilders, Redrow has been frustrated by its shares trading at a discount to net asset value over the past four years. The company has also been hindered by its need to sell on plots bought at high prices during the pre-2008 housing boom and later marked down. Shares in Redrow nudged up 0.25 per cent to close at 158.9p.