The takeover battle for the Vitalharvest Freehold Trust, the owner of $300 million worth of berry and citrus orchards leased to Costa Group, heated up over the weekend after the trust’s responsible entity, Perpetual, said an offer from Roc Partners “would be reasonably likely to result in a superior proposal” for unitholders than a $1 per unit bid from Macquarie’s real estate arm.

However, given the uncertainty of Roc Partners’ as yet unfunded and still non-binding $1.08 per unit offer, Perpetual said it still unanimously recommended unitholders vote in favour of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets’ (MIRA) binding proposal “in the absence of a superior [binding] proposal”.