The company's independence was maintained after Whitbread acted as a white knight by raising its stake in the company from 13 to 23 per cent, and the family and many small shareholders refused to sell their stakes. The chairman of Whitbread, Colonel Whitbread, is reputed to have said, "You are a very old firm. You have a very good name. You mustn't go out." At the time, it was rare for a company to win the emotional argument for independence, and it was the first time a regional brewery had headed off an offer from a national company. In 1970, Charles Boddington retired and his son Ewart assumed the directorship.