Duncan Bannatyne
| Duncan Bannatyne OBE |
|
|---|---|
Bannatyne judging at a Bathing Beauty contest in Felixstowe, Suffolk
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| Born |
2 February 1949 Clydebank, Scotland |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, investor, television presenter |
| Known for | Dragons' Den |
| Net worth |
 GB£200 million
|
| Spouse(s) | Gail Brodie (m. 1983) Joanne McCue (m. 2006-2012) |
| Children | 6 |
| Website | www |
Duncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE (born 2 February 1949), is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, stage schools, property and transport. He is most famous for his appearance as a business angel on the BBC programme Dragons' Den. He was appointed an OBE for his contribution to charity. He has written seven books.
In May 2013, it was reported that Bannatyne was £122m in debt, however he said this is a company debt and the company has assets of £230m.
Bannatyne was born in Dalmuir west of Glasgow. His father Bill had served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in World War II and worked on the Burma Railway after being captured by the Japanese following the Fall of Singapore, he then worked in the foundry at the Clydebank Singer plant. As a child Duncan lived in one room with his parents and siblings in a large house shared with 6 other families. He attended Dalmuir Primary School where he displayed a talent for arithmetic and won a place at Clydebank High School after passing the Eleven plus exam. Most pupils owned a bicycle so he resolved to earn the money to buy one for himself. The local newsagent was not interested in employing him so she challenged him to find 100 new customers in return for a paper round. He called her bluff by returning with 100 names, but later reflected that it would have been more entrepreneurial to have sold the list. He only enjoyed PE and woodwork at the High School and left at 15 without any qualifications.
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