By Ali Lyon The board of Crest Nicholson has rejected an approach from the Elliott-backed Avant Homes, saying it was “not currently minded to engage” in negotiations with the firm. The rebuff comes just weeks after the embattled FTSE 250 housebuilder successfully shrugged off a £650m all-share offer from rival firm Bellway in the same week it was forced to slash its dividend after sliding into a loss in a half-year earnings update. Avant Homes then tabled several unsolicited, indicative proposals for Crest, Sky News’s Mark Kleinman revealed today (July 5), which all consisted of an all-share m…