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Abstract In the British institutional environment, which is clearly favorable to stockholder interests, the acquisition of Rover by a consortium of former wage earners owes much to the juridical work of trade unions.  The threat of damage suits and substantial settlements to be paid to workers and their representatives for absence of consultation during the crucial period discouraged investors who wished to dismantle the company.  In contrast, the project of maintaining operations allowed the company to benefit from a new source of capital. Today, however, there is a danger of the reassertion of a classic form of stockholder action in the form of business liquidation. In this context, it appears that the European model of informating and consultating salaried workers can nevertheless change the relations between stockholders and workers in British companies.