Roger Carr, the new CBI head, promises to make foreign takeovers more difficult

Under former Cadbury chairman Roger Carr, the CBI will defend British companies against hedge funds and foreign predators

After a vigorous fight, Roger Carr reluctantly agreed to sell Britain's favourite chocolate maker, Cadbury, earlier this year to the US food multinational Kraft. As the next president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), he wants to prevent the rest of the nation's industry from melting away.

"We're presently the most open goal of almost any country in the world in terms of foreign takeovers and, indeed, takeovers in general," says the former Cadbury chairman. "As a country, are we comfortable with that or do we want to make it more difficult?"

Carr, 63, has been a fixture at the higher echelons of the business world for decades. The son of a Ford salesman, he started as a computer programmer for Boots. He made his name during the 1980s by building the industrial conglomerate Williams with Sir Nigel Rudd and Brian McGowan.

These days, Carr is as establishment as they come in the business community ? he's a director of the Bank of England and chairman of Centrica, and a member of Brooks's gentlemen's club in St James's. His views, though, are fiercely independent and frequently diverge from the Thatcherite norm that prevails in boardroom circles.

In carefully calibrated terms, he told the Observer he approved of Labour's contentious 50p rate of tax on Britain's super-rich ? a levy dubbed "class war" by the conservative press: "My personal view is that when things are difficult, everyone should make a contribution. Those who can make a bigger contribution should do so. So I, personally, do not think the rate is unreasonable."

Carr is also a critic of the hedge fund industry, which claimed last week to support 50,000 European jobs. He feels that short-termist funds crowding Cadbury's share register were among the reasons for its fall to Kraft.

"I'm an advocate of open markets and very much against protectionism but, as a nation, if you want to address this situation, there are ways you can approach it," he says. He outlined some options earlier this year: raising the takeover threshold to 60% of votes, providing tax incentives for long-term ownership of shares, and considering a "national interest instrument" to defend a broader range of corporations.

After the Cadbury deal, Carr pointedly declined to pose for a photo with Kraft's chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld. But he stresses that British companies are both "predator and prey" and that some fall for reasons of their own making: "The best protection is not to underperform."

Carr becomes deputy president of the CBI next month, before assuming the presidency in June. He takes the role at a time of public anger at government cuts, tuition fees and a feeling that companies are eluding their share of the pain. The amorphous protest body UK Uncut has organised a series of flashmobs and attacks on firms accused of tax avoidance ? including Topshop, which is registered in Monaco, home of the wife of billionaire retailing tycoon Sir Philip Green.

Carr defends the right of companies to minimise their tax bills: "What are the rights, duties and responsibilities of any company? To ensure shareholders are correctly rewarded and to act in the right way for the organisation. Part of that is to be tax efficient. That's reasonable and appropriate."

Does that extend to registering a business in Monte Carlo when its operations are in Britain?

"A business has a responsibility to the country in which it's domiciled. If it has a tax bill, it should pay it. But it's appropriate to be tax efficient," he says, carefully, before adding: "Artificial tax structures are different to efficient tax structures."

He is not planning to join the protests any time soon: "I am concerned to see any group of people rioting and smashing windows. That's not the way to make your case."

Carr has not covered himself in glory in every endeavour. He quit as chairman of pub company Mitchells & Butlers two years ago when the business lost �391m on a failed property deal. His �17,000 leaving present attracted embarrassing coverage.

He did not join fellow business leaders in signing a letter endorsing the coalition's austerity cuts back in October, declaring that "in principle" he will not put his name to open letters. Nevertheless, he is broadly on board: "Although it's very difficult, it's better to move quickly than slowly. It's important that British business does step up to the plate and finding a way of driving growth and creating employment."

As president of the CBI he follows the likes of British Airways chairman Martin Broughton, former BT boss Sir Iain Vallance and one-time Rentokil supremo Sir Clive Thompson. It's an unpaid role ? but Carr picks up �450,000 a year for chairing Centrica. He says the core message from the CBI won't change: "Growth is our priority. The message one would encourage is that Britain is open for business and indeed encourages business."

Andrew Clark

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