Brian Cooke asks his visitor if he would like to meet his company’s new chief executive. “He’s only 18,” says Mr Cooke, executive chairman since 1983 of Castings, one of the UK’s leading automotive parts manufacturers.

It turns out David Gawthorpe – even though fresh-faced – is 47. He is also not so new, having taken over two years ago. But Mr Gawthorpe is used to Mr Cooke’s sense of humour, and reacts with a smile.