Crest Nicholson, the UK housebuilder that fought off a bid approach last year, is back in play after announcing it had rejected an offer from Bank of Scotland Corporate and Sir Tom Hunter's West Coast Capital.

The pair's Castle Bidco vehicle made an indicative cash offer of 585p a share, valuing Crest Nicholson at about £660m, after snapping up the stake of Gerald Ronson's Heron Corporation, last year's thwarted bidder.