View from City Road: Tiny foxes clever with control at Lonrho

Dieter says it, Tiny does it. Lonrho is beginning to look as if it is succumbing to the power of Mr Bock, the German entrepreneur who is co-chief executive with Mr Rowland.

Selling the Observer, settling with the Fayeds, agreeing to rationalise the sprawling empire into four divisions and sell off hundreds of subsidiaries - all these are on Mr Bock's very public agenda, and are being achieved.

Meanwhile, Mr Bock's City fans ride along behind, cheering loudly as their hero chases the next fox. But are they watching through the wrong end of their binoculars? Could that be Mr Rowland hiding over there in the bushes, shooting Dieter's foxes before he gets to them? Look at how he pulled off the Fayed settlement without Mr Bock. He is making not dissimilar claims about the board's decision on a restructuring.

Mr Rowland is addressing two constituencies: members of his board and his shareholders. It does not really matter which co-chief executive first thought of these plans, as they are on the whole sensible and long overdue.

What does matter is that when it comes to a vote on the board - or if it gets out of hand, among shareholders - Mr Rowland will argue that he was always firmly in the driving seat, power should stay with him, and of course loyal allies will be rewarded. That real battle, over control, is still to come, and the outcome is far from a foregone conclusion.