Deborah Meaden
| Deborah Meaden | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 February 1959 Taunton, Somerset, England, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Trowbridge High School |
| Alma mater | Brighton Technical College |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Known for | Dragons' Den |
| Net worth | £40 million [1] |
| Spouse | Paul Meaden |
| Website | |
| http://www.deborahmeaden.com | |
Deborah Sonia Meaden (born 11 February 1959) is a British business woman who ran a multi-million pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. She is best known for her appearances on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den, where she has agreed investments in the Den of £1,605,000 in 26 businesses over the 6 series in which she has taken part to date.[2][3]
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[edit] Early life
Meaden was born in Somerset. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother moved Deborah and her elder sister Gail to Brightlingsea in Essex. After her mother remarried, she had two more daughters (Cass and Emma) with Brian, the man Meaden calls Dad.[4] Meaden went to the Godolphin School, Salisbury, for a brief period and then to Trowbridge High School.[5]
[edit] Career
On leaving school when she was 16, Meaden studied business at Brighton Technical College, after which she worked as a sales-room model in a fashion house.[6] After graduation, she moved to Italy at 19 and set up a glass and ceramics export agency,[3] which sold products to retailers including Harvey Nichols.[6] The company failed after just 18 months.[4]
| “ | I consider it a failure to slog on with a business that is going to die sooner rather than later. And that's a skill I've had from my very, very early days. It's very difficult to realise that you're not going to make any money out of something. A lot of people are blinded. They think, "I can't give this up. I'd feel like a failure." | ” |
Meaden and a partner bought one of the first Stefanel textile franchises in the UK, which was based in the West Country; she sold out two years later to her partner for £10,000.[4] She then had several successful leisure and retail businesses including a spell operating a prize bingo at Butlins in Minehead.
In 1988 she joined her family's business to run its amusement arcade operations and in 1992 joined Weststar Holidays, a family holiday park operator based in Exeter, Devon but with its major sites based in South West England. In 1999 she led a management buyout and acquired the majority shareholding. By the time she sold the company 6 years later the Weststar was providing holidays for more than 150,000 people each year with an EBITDA in excess of £11m. In 2005 she made a partial exit when Weststar was sold in a deal worth £33 million to Phoenix Equity Partners,[7] and in August 2007 her remaining stake in Weststar Holidays was liquidated when the firm was sold to Alchemy Partners for £83m, valuing her stake at about £19m.[8]
In 2009, Meaden acquired Fox Brothers, a West Country textile mill established in 1772 and still based in Wellington, Somerset along with fellow shareholder, Douglas Cordeaux, former design director at Pepe Jeans London.[9] She was also involved in a collaboration with BBC conductor Charles Hazlewood, 'Play the Field', a weekend of classical music on Charles's farm in Somerset over the August bank holiday weekend 2009.[10] In October 2011, Meaden launched 'The Merchant Fox', an online store selling British-made luxury goods with provenance.
[edit] Dragons' Den
Meaden is most famous for her appearance as a "dragon" on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den. She took over from Rachel Elnaugh in Series 3 of the show, which commenced on August 3, 2006. Like Elnaugh who preceded her, Meaden was the only female "dragon" on the programme, although this changed in subsequent seasons due to the arrival of Hilary Devey to replace James Caan. So far in the Den she has agreed investments in 26 businesses to the value of £1,650,000. Only Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis have invested more than Meaden, although they have been on the show for longer. She has been the target of television review comedy snipes, such as Harry Hill's TV Burp and Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe because of her tough demeanour towards contestants. Despite this image portrayal, however, Meaden remains assertive and simply states in her defence, "I can't stand bullshit'". Meaden is known for constantly stating: "You are insulting my intelligence; I'm out!" and by abruptly raising her hand to dramatically finalise where she stands upon that pitch in the Den.[11]
[edit] Other TV work
Meaden appeared as a mentor in the BBC2 series The Speaker in April 2009 offering her advice on speaking with conviction.
In January 2010, Meaden appeared alongside her Dragon's Den co-stars Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones in the fifth episode of the sixth series of Hustle.
Meaden appeared in series 4 of the BBC panel show Would I Lie To You?. On 28 September 2011 she appeared on Ask Rhod Gilbert
[edit] Personal life
Meaden met her husband Paul in summer 1985 while he worked at Weststar during his university break. She didn't want a family and thus they separated, but after she took a trip to Venezuela, she returned to London and they married in 1993. The couple have no children, and live on a restored model farm in Somerset with numerous animals. The couple also have a home in Primrose Hill, London.
[edit] Books
Deborah Meaden published Common Sense Rules (Random House) in the UK in May 2009.
[edit] Work with Into Somerset
In November 2009, Meaden featured in a short film to promote Somerset to businesses, commissioned by Into Somerset,[12] having previously recorded two other short films for the inward investment agency in February 2009.[13]
[edit] World Wildlife Fund
Meaden is a member of the Council of Ambassadors of the World Wildlife Fund.[14]
[edit] Planning controversy
In 2009 a planning inspector criticised Meaden's evidence to his enquiry as "implausible" in a dispute over the granting of village green status to a field on which Mudstone LLP, a firm in which she is a partner, wished to build 48 homes.[15][16]
[edit] Honours
In July 2010, Deborah Meaden was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter Business School.[17] She also received an honorary degree from Staffordshire University in the same month.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ "Deborah Meaden and family". Sunday Times Rich List 2008. London: The Sunday Times. 2008-04-27. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article3820977.ece. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ "BBC – Dragons' Den – Dragons – Deborah Meaden". www.bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/dragons/deborahmeaden.shtml. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ a b Hardy, Rebecca (2008-08-16). "The only deal that Dragon Deborah failed to close? Children". London: www.dailymail.co.uk. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1045665/The-deal-Dragon-Deborah-failed-close-Children.html. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- ^ a b c Hardy, Rebecca (2008-08-16). "The only deal that Dragon Deborah failed to close? Children". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1045665/The-deal-Dragon-Deborah-failed-close-Children.html. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ "The alternative Rich List". Daily Mail – This is Money. 2008-07-16. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=447433&in_page_id=2. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ a b "Vicky Frost Meets Deborah Meaden". London: Guardian Unlimited. 2006-08-28. http://www.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,,1859825,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ "Deborah Meaden – profile". BBC Dragons' Den. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20080307053034/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/thedragons/deborah_meaden.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ "Deborah Meaden and family". Sunday Times Rich List 2008 (London: The Sunday Times). 2008-04-27. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article3820977.ece. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ Keens, Emma (16 January 2010). "I’m in: Dragon Meaden buys Fox Brothers". The Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6990526.ece.
- ^ "Play the field site". http://www.playthefield.co.uk.
- ^ "Question time with Hannah Pool: Dragons' Den's Deborah Meaden on why she can't stand bullshit". London: The Guardian. 2007-11-22. http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2214988,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ Somerset – where you and your business can grow – Into Somerset website
- ^ Into Somerset video gallery – Into Somerset website
- ^ Deborah Meaden. wwf.org.uk
- ^ Dragons' Den star in planning row. BBC News (2009-09-04). Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
- ^ Planning inspector blasts TV Dragon Meaden. Thisissouthdevon.co.uk (2009-09-04). Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
- ^ University of Exeter Honourary Graduate Page. Exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
- ^ Staffordshire University announces 2010 honours list. Staffs.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
[edit] External links
- Deborah Meaden official site
- Official BBC Dragons' Den website
- Video: Deborah on speaking with conviction
- Deborah Meaden's Common Sense Rules (published by Random House, May 2009)
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