Broker's life in the fast lane

Having worked in the hectic world of financial investments for the past 35 years, it would not be unreasonable to assume that by the time that he's finished a day's work, he would be ready for a relaxing evening at home.

But not him. For when Grant closes his office door each day, he opens another on to one of his many interests outside work.

Grant is the kind of man that just can't sit still and enjoy doing nothing. On the contrary, he loves to be busy. If he's not involving himself with the activities of the Worcester Rotary Club, an organisation of which he's been a member for the last 10 years, then he's indulging himself in one of his other favourite pastimes.

Apart from enjoying hobbies like fishing or a competitive round of golf, Grant's main passion is for fast cars, an interest that has been with him for most of his adult life. In his youth he used to compete in motorcycle trials then as his financial situation improved, he moved on to fast cars. Over the years, he has owned such classics as an MG TC, a number of MGBs and a Cosworth BDA powered Lotus Seven which he used to compete in hill climbs during the 1960s.

The Lotus Seven was followed by an MGC. But, as Grant says, it was not a car that he ever really liked because of its unnerving habit of 'losing-the-plot' around corners. A succession of company cars followed and these brought a temporary halt to Grant's fascination with fast cars. However, during the late 1980s the bug bit again when he saw, fell in love with and bought a highly modified and unnaturally fast V8-powered MGB.

Grant has a simple philosophy of the faster the better where cars are concerned. Nevertheless, having discovered that this beast was capable of over 90mph in second gear and at 130mph, still wanted to go faster, he realised that he bought this car on a whim while going through a mid-life crisis.

As much as he adored it, he soon decided that it was not the sort of thing that he should be driving on the Queen's highway. Every set of traffic lights brought another would-be Michael Schumacher alongside him and in the interest of common sense, the car was eventually sold.

Two years later, a friend of Grant's who was involved in the classic car trade, announced that he was importing a mint condition Austin Healey 3000 into the country from the USA. Needless to say, the temptation proved too much for Grant, and he promptly bought it. His new toy then spent the next eight years in his garage and it wasn't until his wife Fiona asked him to 'do something with that old car in the garage', that his enthusiasm for things fast was re-awakened.

By the end of 1999 the car had been brought up to 'full-race' specification after the investment of an amount of money that brings a mischievous grin to Grant's face and the 1960s classic became a road legal, 240bhp muscle car soon to grace the slopes of the Prescott Hill Climb.

So at an age when many of us mere mortals would be looking forward to the delights of early retirement and doing very little, Grant Nowell-Mitchell continues to run his life on the red line of his personal rev counter.

When I asked him if he had any scary anecdotes about competing in the Austin Healey, he thought for a minute before replying: ''No, if you've got time to be scared, you're not trying hard enough!''

He did add that his wife Fiona refuses to go up the Prescott hill climb with him unless she's had at least two large glasses of red wine!

The number 6000 plays a very important part in Grant's life. First, it's the value that he hopes the FTSE 100 share index will return to in the not-too-distant future and second, it's the red line limit on the rev counter of his beloved Healey 3000.