A mixture of 2,2-dimethyl-3-(4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzyloxy)propan-1-ol (5 g), p-toluenesulphonyl chloride (3.75 g) and pyridine (10 cm3) was stirred at the ambient temperature (ca. 20° C.) for 24 hours. The mixture was poured into dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid solution and hhe aqueous mixture extracted with ethyl acetate (3×250 cm3). The combined organic layers were washed with brine, then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulphate. Evaporation of the solvent under reduced pressure gave a dark oil (4 g) which was purified by column chromatography on a silica gel support, eluting with petroleum ether (boiling range (60°-80° C.) containing 20% by volume ethyl acetate, to give the title compound (3.9 g) as a yellow oil.
