Duncan Bannatyne

Famed for his accent, business acumen and infatuation with the County Durham town of Darlington, Duncan Bannatyne is today’s classy gent.

A fervent taxpayer, Bannatyne refuses to deal with those who refuse to share his zeal for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, an example of his belief in that most gentlemanly of concepts, fair play. His sense of fair play extends to his offers to contestants on ‘Dragons Den’, frequently offering to ratchet down his holding in the contestants company, for which he pays cash, for nothing, should they meet financial targets

Anyone who mistakes this for weakness; an unwillingness to operate at the extremes of capitalism, is clearly unfamiliar with the Glasgow Ice Cream Wars. His first business was in ice cream vans back when murder, violence and intimidation were commonplace in the shadowy and savage world of mobile frozen goods retail. Bannatyne thrived, earning the moniker ‘The Monkey Blood Scipio’. He didn’t stay long in the industry, but some say he always carries a 99 flake in his suit pocket to remind him of his humble beginnings.

Bannatyne famously lives his businesses; his houses contain only white leather furniture, sticky bars and broken televisions. The mood is set by last month’s top 40 singles chart playing continuously, day and night, at painful volume. Many suggest that this could be a cause of his, at times, abrasive attitude; however relaxing partially equipped gyms, spas and vast 11.5m swimming pools adjoin.  His primary residence is in the town of Darlington where he is the town’s only person of wealth.

Whilst his penchant for late night prank calls is questionable, as is his distaste for a nice smoke, Bannatyne stands above his peers thanks to his commitment to charities through his own foundation (he supports a Romanian orphanage and an African school feeding programme, amongst others)  and his support and encouragement for budding entrepreneurs. This he achieves not only by backing a small fraction financially on a TV programme but also by generously selling a extensive range of self help books at reasonable prices, predominantly at airports, train stations and motorway service stations. Get yours today!