They will be aware that when Gerry launched his bid for Trusthouse Forte, Sir Rocco Forte had unfortunately just gone out shooting.

The THF boss was at a disadvantage from that moment on and eventually, after one of the most vicious battles the City had seen, THF was delivered into the hands of the man that John Cleese, the comedian, snottily dubbed “an upstart caterer”.

Now Gerry Robinson has the appetite to go back on the attack again. He will be aiming his fire squarely at the leader of his target with the simple proposition that he could do the job much better. He expects investors to welcome him enthusiastically, since they would benefit from any success of his efforts.

He hopes that he can tap into a growing resentment of the profits being made in private equity. Why should shareholders sell to a private equity firm only to watch it quickly turn it into a much more valuable business? Instead, he would offer them the chance of keeping at least a 90 per cent stake in their company while taking out a little cash.

It is not a novel thesis. When Philip Green was pondering that bid for Marks & Spencer, he quickly realised that some investors had seen the money he had made from buying Bhs and Arcadia in a matter of months and were not prepared to hand him a similar profit. Had the bid proceeded, there would have been a stub equity that investors could have opted for to give them a share in the business going forward. Their appetite for this was never fully tested, since Mr Green had a lucky escape from the deal. Sir Gerry is not about to step in where he left off: retailing is a sector of which he is very wary.

But there is little else in business that frightens the former Granada chairman. In his book I’ll Show Them Who’s Boss he wrote: “I firmly believe that running a business is simpler than people generally imagine.”

He had appeared to have lost his enthusiasm for the task. He handed over the reins at Granada, based himself in Ireland, took on the chairmanship of the Arts Council and demonstrated at Allied Domecq just how non-executive a nonexecutive chairman can be. But now, with that company sold, he has decided he wants to show them who’s boss again.

He makes it sound so easy. With the help of the small investment bank Europa Partners, he will charge into the currently unsuspecting business and get to work.

He expects to be able to do it pretty much single-handed, in that Higgsianly unpopular role as executive chairman. “If you get the right person running something, your problems are fundamentally solved,” runs the sub-heading to his chapter on leadership.

Gerry Robinson is confident that he has the right person, even if some analysts are not convinced that brainwaves such as the costly ITV Digital entitle him to assume the status of business guru.

But investors unhappy with the current performance of their business may find his confidence encouraging. And unlike the private equity bidders, since the ownership of the business will remain largely unchanged, he will not be put off by that current deterrent to a bidder, the pension fund deficit.

Brown's bike needs a push

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive