Jim McColl scorns the idea that he has been “lucky” with the engineering products his businesses provide. “We’ve avoided the worst of the recession because we’re in the right industries,” he says.

In an animated discussion of his business interests at his global headquarters on the outskirts of Glasgow, Mr McColl is happy to talk about the specifics of what his companies do. “You could use one of our biggest pumps to fill Wembley stadium [with water] in about an hour.”