Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, and property. 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.

Bannatyne has written 7 books. "Anyone Can Do It" sold more than 200,000 copies; "Wake Up and Change Your Life" quickly entered the Sunday Telegraph top selling books list, as did "How to be Smart with Your Money." His fourth book, "How to be Smart with Your Time," provides practical advice on making the best use of your most valuable asset, and his most recent book, "43 Mistakes Businesses Make," explains how to avoid those costly mistakes that can waste time, cause embarrassment, or even endanger the future of a business.

Born in 1949 in the town of Clydebank, Bannatyne was raised in relatively modest circumstances. In 1964, at the age of 15, he volunteered for 12 years with the Royal Navy. He served in the Navy for several years before receiving a dishonorable discharge for threatening to throw an officer off a boat landing jetty in Scotland. In his biography, he reveals it was in part a reaction to this officer's abuse of his authority, in part a dare by his shipmates and in part a way of getting out of the Navy, with which he had become disillusioned. Afterwards, Bannatyne had to serve nine months in the tough Colchester military detention center before being discharged at age 20.

Bannatyne moved to Jersey, where he met his first wife, and then to Stockton-on-Tees in the North East. It was there that his business career began, with an ice cream van bought for £450; he soon expanded by buying more vans and eventually sold the business for £28,000, founding a care home business instead. Quality Care Homes was sold for £26 million in 1996 and another business, children's nursery chain Just Learning, for £22 million.

Bannatyne has since branched into Health Clubs, with the popular Bannatyne's Health Clubs chain, and also bars, hotels, and property. They acquired 26 Health Clubs from Hilton Hotels back in August 2006, which made them the largest independent chain of Health Clubs in the United Kingdom. In October 2008, in defiance of the credit crunch, he opened the £12,000,000 Bannatyne Spa Hotel in Hastings and also revamped the spa chain.

In 2020, Bannatyne took part in a BBC series called "The Real Marigold Hotel." He joined other celebrities such as Britt Ekland, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Paul Elliott, Henry Blofeld, John Altman, Susie Blake, and Barbara Dickson.