An Australian hedge fund manager has become only the second financial services group in two-and-a-half years to be publicly criticised by the UK Takeover Panel. It blamed its breach of the rules on a lack of familiarity with the takeover code and on the fact its compliance staff were on holiday.

The UK Takeover Panel today issued a statement of public criticism of Monterrey Investment Management for the hedge fund group's failure to disclose in the "appropriate timeframes" its securities dealings in Australian health information group IBA and iSoft, a UK rival for which IBA launched a recommended takeover offer in May.