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Take note. With hedge fund activism a growing presence in Britain, it would be nice (or at least entertaining) if those taking aim at the UK’s underperformers would do it with a little flair.

Step forward, Daniel Loeb, head of Third Point - known for his venomous tongue and sarcastic turn of phrase when expressing his dissatisfaction to companies he believes aren’t up to the job.

After a quiet spell, some were speculating that Loeb had mellowed, points out Dealbook. But his latest missive to drug development company PDL Biopharma, in which Third Point owns a 9.7 per cent stake, confirms that Loeb is still on form. In the letter, he calls for the removal of the chief executive Mark McDade, with such choice phrases as:

“Many fund managers who have been similarly rebuffed, and who have detected such a deficit in talent, probity and judgement as we have come to find in Mr McDade, might come to the logical conclusion to “cut and run”…..Instead we have come to a different view: we concluded that the Board of Directors has no choice but to immediately terminate Mr McDade.”

The letter then lays out details of phone calls in which the fund expressed concern about spending levels and requests for Board representation, including the submission of four possible candidates for consideration, all of which were rejected as unsuitable.

Loeb also attacks what he dubs the “Taj Mahal,” PDL’s new corporate headquarters: “There is no better example of McDade’s ‘empire building, pathological selfishness and poor business judgement than his decision to build out PDLI’s absurdly large and unnecessary new corporate headquarters.”

He goes on to accuse Mr McDade of apparently being, “fixated on when his boat slip in the marina adjacent to the new corporate headquarters will be ready” and suggests that the primary motivation for moving the headquarters across the San Francisco Bay from Fremont to Redwood City was to reduce Mr McDade’s commuting time.

PDL’s newly appointed chairman, L Patrick Gage later responded to Loeb in a letter, reports Bloomberg. Company executives leaders said they are interested in a “constructive dialogue'’ with Third Point.

“We remain committed to becoming a leading therapeutics company'’ by advancing a pipeline of experimental drugs, they wrote. “We believe our current strategy addresses this objective,'’ McDade and Gage said, adding that they will provide more information to investors on research spending.