A former regional editor has told the story of “one of the most vicious corporate battles of recent times” in a new book.

Bernard Ginns has written Outcast, which tells of how maverick northern industrialist Andrew Cook fought back against the City and media establishment to protect the manufacturing company founded by his Victorian forefathers from a raiding party backed by powerful financial institutions.

Bernard was the business editor of the Yorkshire Post from 2008 to 2016.

Previously he was editor of the award-winning media start-up Kent on Sunday and a staff reporter at The Mail on Sunday.

He now runs the specialist communications consultancy Branksome Partners, which is based near Ilkley.

The book, written during the pandemic, is Bernard’s first.

He said: “The hostile takeover bid dominated the national business news at the end of the last Conservative government, a time of social, economic and political change and the dawn of a new era in Great Britain.”

Mark Casci, another former business editor of the Post, said: “This is a hugely enjoyable book.

“I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in business, modern history and underdog stories.”

The book is available via Amazon.