Pardon The Expression (Season 2 - Ep.11) The Take-Over Bid (1966)

First broadcast: 28th March 1966

Plot(From Corripedia):
Bad news has reached the staff of Dobson and Hawks: a takeover bid is in progress for the company led by the eccentric, Germanic owner of the much more “with-it” firm of “Camp Gear”, Harvey Clawson. The twitching, bullying Mr Clawson himself is in Leonard Swindley’s branch looking over the store and asking questions of the staff about their product lines prior to a meeting with Sir Charles Dobson who is firmly opposed to the sale of the old family company. Swindley doesn’t recognise the entrepreneur and has him thrown out when he sees him seemingly acting strangely on the shop floor and his prospects under the future regime don’t look good. However Swindley and Hunt also don’t like his management style when they overhear him on the phone to his shops, setting difficult-to-achieve targets and firing staff for the smallest transgression. At mid-day the sale of the company reaches a crisis point - Clawson has achieved the purchase of 20,750 shares and has control however Sir Charles points out that his party also has precisely the same number of shares and the matter is deadlock until the owner of some ten missing shares can be traced and their opinion sought. By a major coincidence that owner is Swindley who was left the shares in the will of his Aunt Veronica some years before. Swindley is separately wined and dined by both Clawson and Dobson, making sure that Hunt shares in the spoils of good food, fine wines and cigars. He then reaches his decision and offers his shares to Sir Charles, keen to retain the old ways of working. His only request is one that he has been making for some time now - a new carpet for his office.