Make sure your key colleagues are fully briefed on any issues that are likely to occur while you are away and trust them to make decisions on your behalf. If they really need help they will send you an email.

Getting ready to go away is much easier than coming back to work. Before you leave, write a list of the major issues that you need to tackle when your holiday is over. When you return, try to stay relaxed. Don’t try to do too much on your first day back at work or you will feel that you need another holiday.

Q I’m thinking of buying the building that we’ve used for four years now because the landlord needs to sell and it’s a good location in town. Do you think this is a good use of our resources? All the consultants seem to say that businesses shouldn’t tie down capital in property.

A I don’t go along with your consultants. People prefer to own the house where they live so why shouldn’t a business buy the freehold of its head office?

You will not only enjoy the security of being your own landlord but you will also save the rent and have the potential benefit of considerable capital growth in the years ahead. Your bank manager will like looking at some solid assets on your balance sheet so he too will feel more secure.

It is a sound move as long as the price is right. Get good advice – it is worth asking more than one property expert for a valuation. If your landlord is keen to sell you should be able to negotiate a good deal.

During the last two years we have purchased the freehold of a few of our shops and bought our main office building (which we financed through a mortgage). We don’t regret spending our money in this way – neither will you.

Q You claim to be a leading service retailer and yet it could be said that you have missed out on the fastest growing service opportunity on the high street. Did you ever consider getting involved in the booming tattoo and piercing studio business?

A No, we have never given tattooing much thought. Some years ago it seemed a million miles from the Timpson culture – small side street independents providing a somewhat cloak and dagger service, which looked like no more than a passing fad. We were wrong, tattooing has become a major trend and the service is moving on to the main street, but it is still not for us.

We could have made good money – it is a retail service business that ticks all the financial boxes with low investment and high margins. But business is not just about financial ratios and profit potential, it also needs to fit with your philosophy.

We have managed to put together a collection of services that work in the same shop and we have tried some services that haven’t worked so well – we struggled to make jewellery repairs into a big business.

And I have been worried about becoming a Jack of All Trades – we must always aim to be the best at what we do. So I don’t expect to branch out into hairdressing or service mobile phones and I definitely won’t be adding body piercing to the services we offer.

Q How do you cope when your staff do a better job than you could – turn to the happy pills?

A I am delighted to report that everyone working in our shops is better than me when it comes to shoe and watch repairs, and all the other jobs we do. I am so hopelessly ham-fisted that my wife Alex declared me a definite dunce at DIY 40 years ago.

It gets worse – with my lack of discipline and attention to detail I’d make a useless area manager, would be a woeful warehouse manager and pathetic in personnel.

Thankfully my role is to help create a culture that helps our experts flourish, by setting the strategy, and clearing away any obstacles that get in the way of progress.

But my job is changing. At 67, day-to-day operations have less appeal and there are plenty of people who relish the tasks. Since my son James took over day-to-day control, I have become more of a mentor than a manager. When everyone knows more than me it will be time to play more golf. In the meantime I’m staying on the payroll.