Deborah Meaden Net Worth estimated at £46 million – A successful woman entrepreneur and Dragons Den dragon…
This article is about Dragons Den Deborah Meaden Net Worth. I’ve been a fan of Deborah Meaden ever since she entered the Dragons Den. She’s a straight-talking Dragons Den Entrepreneur.
She has earned a high reputation in the business world with a growing net worth.
My interest in Deborah Meaden is three-fold…
- She is a successful entrepreneur and I love finding out about success.
- Deborah Meaden is a successful woman in business and I love to write about women entrepreneurs.
- She appears on my favourite TV show Dragons Den
From young entrepreneurial ideas to Dragons Den success…
Meaden is a successful woman-in-business. She launched her first business at a young age.
She quotes on her own website “From an early age Deborah knew she wanted her own business.”
After school, she went to business college. However, it was straight out of college at age just 19 that she began her entrepreneurial career. So another young entrepreneur.
Her early entrepreneurial drive was probably fueled, like so many teen entrepreneurs, by her parents.
Deborah Meaden’s family owned Weststar Holidays, was set up and run by her parents. The entrepreneurial spirit of her parents would have rubbed off on her. From an early age she knew she wanted her own business.
This family business ran holiday parks across the South West of England. This included Hampshire, Dorset and Cornwall.
The story of Deborah Meaden Net worth…
Deborah Meaden’s net worth as of 2017 is estimated at around £46 million. A large portion of her net worth was made in 2005 when she part-sold shares in family business Weststar.
Meaden’s on-paper net worth took a huge step forward when she took over family business Weststar Holidays, and became Managing Director.
Her actual cash net worth took another major boost when she sold a significant percentage of her shareholding for £33 million, which she had originally acquiring in 1999.
The next wealth boost she received was when she sold her remaining 23% in 2007 for just over £19 million. The business was bought out by Parkdean holidays.
Parkdean added the four holiday parks Meaden owned in the South West to an already large portfolio of holiday parks. These parks include Mullion and Looe Bay in Cornwall, Sandford in Dorset and Hayling Island in Hampshire, to their already much larger portfolio.
Other Deborah Meaden businesses…
Meadens first business endeavour was a glass and ceramic import company. She even moved to Italy to set up and run this business. This first business supplied upmarket stores like Harvey Nics. Her Ceramic business wasn’t a success for her. She decided to walk away when the company she sold on behalf of broke the sole-agency agreement.
Deborah initiated a number of other businesses. This included a franchise for Italian clothing and a prize bingo concession at Butlins.
It was only after she saw those businesses gradually grow up into successes that Deborah joined the family amusement arcade business.
Deborah Meaden now a full time investor…
Deborah Meaden has put her net worth to good use and become a full time investor. Having a sizable wealth, she has invested over £3 million on the BBC’s Dragons Den already.
Dragon on BBC’s Dragons Den…
Deborah Meaden took over from Rahel Elnaugh on Dragons Den in 2006 on the third series. Although you might expect a ‘soft-approach’ from a women entrepreneur, this is not Deborah Meaden’s approach. She has a git of a hard bite, and doesn’t stand for any unprepared elevator pitches.
Meaden gets particularly annoyed when contestants don’t know their numbers. She soon makes it known when she’s not happy. However, for those well-prepared entrepreneurs who enter the den, she is a welcomed dragon investor to have on board.
She has a wealth of knowledge and experience, not just in the holiday park business, but also in the business franchise sector too.
Entrepreneur who made her fortunes in the leisure and retail sector and in the family amusement arcade business.
Related: Peter Jones succesful Dragon’s den entrepreneur with a net worth of over £500 million
Deborah Meaden investments from Dragons Den…
Deborah Meaden’s investments since she’s been on Dragons Den, all of which will be adding to her growing net worth, include Marxman. Marxman is described as the perfect drilling companion.
This marking-tool is used by builders for installing or measuring and it clearly marks most surfaces.
Martin Chard and Jenny David pitched their product in Dragons Den and were looking for a £50,000 investment.
Finally a deal was struck at a 30% stake in the business.
Deborah’s reason for investing she shares on her website:
“Often the best Inventions come from an Individual who doesn’t just complain about a problem but who sets out to solve it and this is exactly what Martin did with the Marxman. But turning that Invention into a Business sometimes requires a different skillset and whilst Martin and Jenny are both very smart people they have little business experience so, once they had won me on the product and I really liked them as people, it was very clear to me where I could help. Martin and Jenny have done very well getting Marxman into Wickes so our Job now is to roll out to the wider DIY and Building sector…and we are already on our way.“
Young teen entrepreneur investment…
Along similar lines to Marxman, Deborah Meaden invested in Gripit. Entrepreneur Jordan Daykin received £80,000 investment for a 25% stake in the business.
Gripit is used for fixing items to plasterboard. On the show he demonstrated the product by fixing a radiator on the wall with the product. Peter Jones declared himself out when he managed to rip the radiator off the wall. The youngest entrepreneur to receive an investment on Dragons Den at aged 19 has the last laugh, as his invention is now sold in over 5,000 stores across the UK.
Related: Teenpreneur – A Young Aspiring Entrepreneur and the Little Founders of the Future. Young Entrepreneurs and Millennials with Multi-Million Dollar Businesses
From builder investments to a feminine product…
A more feminine product that Deborah Meaden invested alongside fellow dragon Kelly Hoppen is ‘Clean Heels’. They shared the 25% stake 12.5% each in return for a total investment of £50,000.
Clean Heels is a stopper which can be attached to women’s heels to stop their shoes from sinking into soft ground.
She has a full list of Deborah Meaden investments on her website.
Meaden’s biggest mistakes with her wealth…
In an interview with This is Money she admits to losing £500,000. Her advice as a result of this is “if you don’t understand it, do not invest in it.”
This was an investment in a structured bond just before the 2008 credit crunch happened. In the same interview she admits to getting in trouble with credit cards.
At just 18 she ran up credit of £3,000 (equivalent to around £20,000 today). As a result of this mistake with money, she no longer uses credits cards.
Deborah Meaden qualities…
Deborah Meaden’s ability to work with people is one of her many reasons for success. She’s had a hands-on experience of working with people.
Deborah Meaden of course has a business mind – a brilliant one, at that. She calls herself a tough one. And that has worked wonders for her in her longstanding entrepreneurial career.
But when you approach her to get advice or for a chat, she’s an easygoing person. Most journalists like interviewing her, because it is easy to ask her questions.
Deborah Meaden husband and personal life…
Deborah Meaden lives with her husband Paul Meaden in Somerset. In addition to Paul,she shares her life with one cat, three dogs, five horses, eleven chicken, four ducks and three geese.
Deborah Meaden Lend With Care
Lend With Care is a revolutionary programme to lend a supporting hand to people across developing world. With the programme, the poor families can find their way out of poverty and live a better life.
It also helps entrepreneurs start new financial endeavours. Budding entrepreneurs in third-world countries can look to Lend With Care for a loan to build a business to help them out of poverty.
A quote from the Lend-With-Ware website “People like Yaya Omorou are determined to work themselves out of poverty – and a loan of just £15 from you can help them get their business off the ground.”
From dragon investor to Strictly Come Dancing…
Meaden is now a recognised celebrity. Her fame brought her to the Strictly Come Dancing series on the BBC. She managed to get through to week 5 before being eliminated, so perhaps she should stick to being an entrepreneur instead.
Meaden took to the popular dancing show showcasing her versatility. She he has this to say about her dancing partner:
‘I’m going to be dancing live in front of 11 million people and Robin is my rock. I rely on him. We’ve had very long days together, laughed together and had lunch together. All of that has broken down all that “ooh don’t want to get too close”.
Deborah Meaden quotes…
I always like to share a few quotes from the entrepreneurs I write about, so this is my favourite from Deborah:
And another Deborah Meaden quote that may ring true with many a would-be entrepreneur:
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Related: Dragons Den Sarah Willingham – Successful woman in business and entrepreneur.
