IF there is one regret that Sir Mike Darrington has after a lifetime at the sharp end of commerce, it is that he has not spent enough time with his children.

"I have been a bad father," Sir Mike admits.

"I was so committed, enthusiastic and passionate about what I was doing (in the business). Now I spend a lot of time with them."

This may come as a surprise to the army of admirers who view him as something of a father figure to the 15,000 staff at the UK's leading bakery business, Greggs.

Yet it is a sentiment that will chime with those who have dedicated every waking hour to squeezing the very last drop of potential out of their business.

If, as he maintains, Sir Mike has fallen shy of his own exacting standards when it comes to fatherhood, it is because he wanted to provide his family with the best possible foundation.

It is a character trait that typifies the man. During the interview, in front of an audience at an event organised by the Bridge Club, in Newcastle, it is plain to see that Sir Mike places morals and ethics at the forefront of all his actions.

His father had an engineering business and his mother a retail clothing company - the perfect breeding ground that allowed him to understand basic essentials such as book-keeping and also taught him the harsh reality of business.

His father put himself through night school while working as a shop steward in the Boiler Makers Union.

After helping rescue a struggling company, he set up his own firm, manufacturing road tankers for major oil companies.

But a flourishing business was brought crashing down when Prime Minister Anthony Eden took the decision to invade Egypt in 1956.

With the Suez Canal blocked, the oil routes out of the Middle East were stalled. The oil companies put a freeze on orders for new tankers and Sir Mike's father had to sell his business.

Three months later and with the crisis ended, the business was back up and running - but in the hands of another owner.

"That made me think I needed to really have a good understanding of money," says Sir Mike.

"Money and numbers are really important if you are going to be involved in business."

He went into the City of London, where he worked for a small firm of accountants before moving to United Biscuits.

In 1978, Sir Mike was asked to take over the running of a struggling Merseyside bakery business with 120 shops and 2,000 employees.

Sir Mike recalls: "Once I got to know a little about the business, I pulled everyone together and said 'If you help me, I'm going to help you'."

He made a commitment to the staff to turn the business around without making anyone redundant. He was as good as his word.

With little knowledge of the products, Sir Mike made a point of going into the bakery every day - and discovered a taste for jam doughnuts.

Enjoying the products was a crucial part of saving the bakery.

As Sir Mike says: "If you give people a poor product, you will lose them. You must not disappoint your customers."

Sir Mike's strong ethics were a driving factor in his decision to leave United Biscuits to take up the managing director's role at the much smaller family-run Greggs bakery business.

"I met Ian Gregg and I really liked him," he explains.

"He had the same ideas and values about business. Values are important. He had a genuine concern for people."

Sir Mike continues: "I got a lot of good things from United Biscuits but one of the motivations is that I find it more exciting improving and building than maintaining what is there at the moment. That's why I joined Greggs and I've been having a lot of fun ever since."

When he made the move, Greggs was on course for stock market flotation at some point in the next three years. Three months after taking the role, conditions were right for public listing and the family firm was catapulted into the FTSE.

Sir Mike was at the helm of a plc that was over-subscribed at flotation and had a starting share price of 135p. It now stands nearer £51.60 a share.

To what does he attribute this success? "Meeting customer needs is the single most important thing in business," he says.

Acquisitions and shop openings have seen Greggs' name progress south and the bakery even has outlets in Belgium.

It has also had to keep up with changing consumer tastes. In 1984, 40 per cent of sales consisted of bread and rolls. Now they account for only seven per cent.

Sir Mike says. "People's habits are changing. They don't have time to go home for lunch. They want something that doesn't take time."

This brings a new set of challenges and a debate is raging within the company about the virtue of selling prepared sandwiches compared with making them to order.

It is not the first debate to dominate boardroom time. "We debated for hours about whether or not Greggs should sell a prawn sandwich," says Sir Mike.

"Some said it was too upmarket for Greggs. The only way to find out was to trial it. Within months it was the best seller."

Sir Mike is now three years away from retirement and plans to dedicate his enthusiasm and drive to furthering the cause of the business he has been instrumental in developing over the past 25 years.

Still partial to the odd jam doughnut or sausage roll - Greggs' own, of course - his retirement plans revolve around spending as much time as possible with his family.