The news in early December that four asset management firms have emerged as potential bidders for a stake in Hermes Investment Management puts some question marks over the future of the firm — and its chief executive, Saker Nusseibeh.

A spokeswoman for Hermes declined to comment on the sale by the BT Pension Scheme. But when I spoke to Nusseibeh a few weeks prior to the story breaking, he was adamant that he was in it for the long run.