Maverick? Definitely. Dogged? Tick. Genius? That was an adjective with which Guy Hands used to be garlanded with embarrassing regularity.

It’s now a far less conspicuous label, following the implosion of EMI Music; Terra Firma’s misguided bet on the financial resilience of the care homes sector (via its £825m purchase of Four Seasons); and a combination of poor timing and bad luck at Wyevale Garden Centres, where inclement weather and deteriorating consumer sentiment seem to have closed off profitable exit routes.