The long-running takeover battle for Enodis, the catering equipment supplier, took a fresh twist on Thursday after Illinois Tool Works trumped an earlier agreed offer from Manitowoc, the US engineering group.

The agreed cash offer of 282p a share from FNI Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITW, values Enodis’s share capital at £1.03bn and represents an 8.5 per cent premium to the earlier agreed deal.