Now we know what Nelson Peltz was up to with his fruitless 15-month proxy fight at Disney. Just a bit of shadow boxing with a cartoon mouse before moving on to the bigger stuff: the real-life rats at Rentokil Initial.

The activist investor’s Trian Partners has taken an undisclosed but “significant position” in the UK-listed rodent catcher — enough to make it “a top ten shareholder” and lift Rentokil shares 14 per cent to 472¼p. Peltz has also “reached out to Rentokil to discuss ideas and initiatives to improve shareholder value”, with Trian looking “forward to working with Rentokil’s leadership team” — even more, you’d think, than its chief executive Andy Ransom is itching to work with Peltz.

So, what does the activist want from