What projects are you working on at the moment?

In my filing cabinet there will always be at least 20 to 25 projects on the go. Some won't come to fruition now but will come to fruition in many years to come.

The knowledge base you acquire during that period stands you in good stead if you have to react quickly. So projects that we've got going on at the moment – apart from our normal day to day businesses – are mainly acquisitions of other retailers and businesses that are mainly struggling.

How do we know they are struggling? It is dead easy – you go in and take the experience and take the business and you enjoy the ambiance within the store and you can tell.

I am a shopaholic. I am the person that is everyone's worst nightmare. Wherever I go in the world I put aside several days to go visit the stores.

Whenever I go anywhere Mrs P says, 'I'm going to go have a coffee and I will meet you back here in two or three hours,' because she does not want to do the walking with me.

I can walk all day in malls, shopping centres, high streets - I love it.