It is 23 years since Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw reprimanded one of her fellow singletons for remarking that ‘women just want to be rescued’. ‘Honey,’ she said, ‘did you ever think that maybe we’re the white knights and we’re the ones that have to save ourselves?’

The line ranks among the most celebrated in the show’s history, but I mention it here because a similarly indignant response is currently unfolding in the UK smaller companies sector.