THE battle for control of bedmaker Silentnight has hotted up with the chairman Keith Ackroyd and chief executive Bill Simpson both facing the sack.

Famco, the family trust set up by the company's late founder Tom Clarke, has demanded an extraordinary general meeting when it will call for the pair's removal.

And with the Clarke family effectively controlling 50.5 per cent of the shares in the Salterforth-based business, it appears certain there will be a change at the top.

Talks between Silentnight and Famco broke down after the company rejected an offer to buy all the shares not owned by the Clarke family

Famco offered an indicative price of 190p-per-share, valuing Silentnight at around £89 million.

Silentnight chief executive Bill Simpson said the offer price undervalued the company and he was not able to recommend it to shareholders.

But Famco hit back, accusing management of failing to provide a "plan of action".

The trust said: "Famco firmly believes that these changes are necessary to attempt to preserve the value in the business for the benefit of all Silentnight shareholders."

Mr Simpson conceded that as Famco was the majority shareholder, there was a "certain inevitability" about his departure.

He called the move "disappointing, upsetting and all the other words I want to use".

But he added: "The important thing to get into the public arena is that the price doesn't just undervalue the company, it substantially undervalues it."

However, he conceded: "Throughout the process, they made it clear that if they didn't get their way one way, there were other routes open to them and with 50.5% of the shareholding, there are."

Famco is seeking shareholder approval to cap the amount it buys the remaining shares at 190p.

Under the Takeover Code it must wait six months before putting in another offer for the business, however.

Shares in the Silentnight slumped 29p at 178p at the update, a 14% decline.

Silentnight now has three weeks to respond to the request for an EGM and then a further three weeks to inform shareholders.

The group, based in Barnoldswick in Lancashire, floated on the London market in the early 1970s and now employs around 5,000 people.

Its brands include Silentnight, Sealy, Rest Assured and Stag.

Earlier this year, however, it warned interim profits would fall substantially below last year's levels after problems in the troubled furniture division.