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Dragons' Den panellists - how would they do at Top Trumps?

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The success of Dragons’ Den is made by the performance of the Dragons. And the programme has now made them famous in the minds of the general public, whereas previously they were only well known in their own business worlds. Viewers have strong views about the Dragons – they either love them or hate them depending how they behave on the Show.

No doubt their mothers would not always agree with what the viewers think and therefore, to set the record straight, here are the biographies of some of the Dragons in the style of Top Trumps.

James Caan
  • Name – James Caan:The People's Investor
  • Nationality – British Asian
  • Family – Married with two children
  • Type of Investor – Offers to add real value to real businesses
  • Interests – Retail and services
  • Offers accepted on Dragons’ Den – 4
  • Character on Dragons’ Den – The humble investor and the mentor
  • Best quote from the show – ‘You value your company at £1 million.What planet are you on?’
  • Tell-tale signs of scepticism – Always very polite and explains why he is backing out
  • Tell-tale signs of interest – Quick to put in an offer
  • Celebrity status – Celebrity speaker, own TV show planned, own website. His autobiography is to be published autumn 2008
  • Dress sense – Relaxed multi-millionaire
  • 2008 Sunday Times Rich List ranking – 1,096th – £73m
  • Charitable works – The James Caan Foundation, The British Edutrust Foundation, The Educare Trust, The NSPCC and has built a school in Lahore, Pakistan, to educate local children
  • Famous deal - £60,000 for a 40% share in Laban Roome’s gold plating company ‘Midas Touch’.

Deborah Meaden
  • Name – Deborah Meaden:The Marketeer
  • Nationality – British
  • Family – Married
  • Type of Investor – Highly logical investor. Only invests in what she understands and believes will make money.
  • Interests – Marketing, brands and tourism
  • Offers accepted on Dragons’ Den – 7
  • Character on Dragons’ Den – No-nonsense and fierce
  • Best quote from the show – ‘You damn well ought to feel uncomfortable.’
  • Tell-tale signs of scepticism – Raises both eyebrows with wide eyes in disbelief and raises palms to show she is backing out
  • Tell-tale signs of interest – Smiling (rarely)
  • Celebrity status –TV appearances, own website
  • Dress sense – Hard-nosed business woman
  • 2008 Sunday Times Rich List ranking – 1,794th – £40 million
  • Charitable works –The Princes Trust and Emmaus, a charity for the homeless
  • Website – www.deborahmeaden.com
  • Famous deal - £35,000 in Sarah Lu’s company ‘Youdoodoll’ for a 45%

Theo Paphitis
  • Name – Theo Paphitis:The Retail Expert
  • Nationality – Cypriot
  • Family – Wife, five children, two grandchildren
  • Type of Investor – Spontaneous and enthusiastic
  • Interests – Failing businesses
  • Offers accepted on Dragons’ Den – 6+
  • Character on Dragons’ Den – Master of the one-liner
  • Best quotes from the show – ‘I would rather stick pins in my eyes than invest in you,’‘Mrs P says . . .’,‘Is this how you are going to spend my kids’ inheritance?’
  • Tell-tale signs of scepticism – Mocks the contestants
  • Tell-tale signs of interest – Smirking
  • Celebrity status – Own website, autobiography, celebrity speaker
  • Dress sense – New world business magnate
  • 2008 Sunday Times Rich List ranking – 581st – £135m
  • Charitable works – Theo has supported events such as the Cystic Fibrosis ‘Liv’ Charity Event
  • Website – www.theopaphitis.com
  • Famous deal - 20% for £70,000 in iTeddy

Duncan Bannatyne
  • Name – Duncan Bannatyne, OBE: The genuine self-made man
  • Nationality – Scottish
  • Family – Wife and six children
  • Type of Investor – Hard man who has done it for himself and expects the same from others
  • Interests – Health and fitness
  • Offers accepted on Dragons’ Den – 4
  • Character on Dragon’s Den – Rock star of the business world
  • Best quote from the show – ‘You are barking mad; it’s as simple as that’
  • Celebrity status – Own website hugely successful autobiography fronted the 2008 TV show about the Sunday Times Rich List, famous for his leisure centres
  • Tell-tale signs of scepticism – Wide-mouthed dumbfounded
  • Tell-tale signs of interest – One hand on chin, sat back in chair, very relaxed
  • Dress sense – Relaxed businessman
  • 2008 Sunday Times Rich List ranking – 267th – £310m
  • Charitable works – As a fervent charity fundraiser Duncan supports a number of key charities including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Scottish International Relief. He was named as an Honorary Fellow of UNICEF and, through his work with Scottish International Relief, has helped fund two orphanages in Romania and Colombia. Duncan was awarded an OBE in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to charity.
  • Website – www.duncanbannatyne.co.uk
  • Famous deal - joint investment of £150,000 for 36% of the equity in Peter Moule’s ‘Chocbox’ invention.

Peter Jones
  • Name – Peter Jones:The Visionary
  • Nationality – British Family – Divorced, new partner, five children
  • Type of Investor – Invests for interest and pleasure as well as money
  • Interests – Telecoms, media, leisure and publishing
  • Offers accepted on Dragons’ Den – 6
  • Character on Dragons’ Den – The hard worker/Simon Cowell Figure/Genuine High Achiever Best quote from the show – ‘You’re in Disneyland.’
  • Telltale signs of scepticism – Outright laughing after a period of silence
  • Telltales signs of interest – Remains silent until the last moment, giving nothing away but wearing a smug grin
  • Dress sense – Serious businessman and expects the same from entrepreneurs who pitch to him, but with a light touch (his socks!)
  • Celebrity status – Autobiography, celebrity speaker, own website, board game, own TV shows and appearances on US TV shows
  • 2008 Sunday Times Rich List Ranking – 513th – £157m
  • Charitable works – The Peter Jones Foundation which provides support and fund-ing for children in the UK. The foundation hosts the Forgotten Children charity and The National Enterprise Academy
  • Website – www.peterjones.tv
  • Famous deal - £50,000 for 30% of Celia Norowzian and Ian Forshew’s concept ‘Beach Break Live’.

Taken from the book Dragons or Angels by Modwenna Rees-Mogg (Crimson Publishing) Priced £12.99 you can buy your copy from www.crimsonpublishing.co.uk or any good bookshop.

Posted November 12, 2008
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