Sara Dhada, who describes herself as an “international car trader”, is a trained lawyer but helps run Dhada Motors in Leicester.

Dhada, who made her debut as a project manager in BBC's The Apprentice last week, said she turned around her father's independent car business by taking over from her brothers and encouraging him to sell high performance Japanese cars.

“I was born into a business family, it's in my blood,” she said.

"I'm a true example of pure class and elegance. I don't try to be glamorous – I'm just naturally like that. I think I will win.”

According to the BBC, Dhada cut her entrepreneurial teeth aged 14, selling bicycles at car boot sales.

The company's main business is exporting right hand drive prestige German marques, including Audi and BMW, to Far Eastern markets such as Malaysia.

“Sara is a strategist – she looks at where our business is heading,” Dhada's brother Naeem told Motor Trader.

The company has been trading for 15 years and offers a variety of vehicle brokerage services beyond exports, including finding particular cars for clients and selling vehicles on behalf of private owners.