Bernard Arnault, the undisputed lord of luxury who controls and runs the French LVMH conglomerate, never appeared to have any particular affinity with sailing. For a quarter of a century one of the main pillars of his group – the Louis Vuitton handbag and leather goods manufacturer – was the principal sponsor of the world’s most prestigious and oldest yachting competition: the America’s Cup.

The group’s own Louis Vuitton Cup was used to select the challenger in the final America’s Cup competition. But Mr Arnault was never much taken by the race. Indeed, Louis Vuitton last year terminated all its sponsorship activities in the America’s Cup after falling out with the Swiss organisers of the event. The French group felt the Swiss were trying to popularise what had long been regarded one of the world’s most exclusive sporting events.