Dragons cash in Magic Whiteboard stake
Is this the strike series’ most profitable exit yet? &#thirteen 
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Dragons’ Den investors Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis have cashed in their stakes in Magic Whiteboard, the Worcester-primarily based company of reusable, sticky rolls of whiteboard, for more than £600,000, having the sum generated from the organization in excess of the lifetime of their expense to virtually £1m.
Founders Neil and Laura Westwood have purchased back again the shares, and now very own 100pc of the enterprise.
The pair elevated £100,000 from the Dragons throughout the sixth sequence of the strike BBC present, with Ms Meaden and Mr Paphitis sharing a 40pc stake in the enterprise.
Magic Whiteboard is 1 of the most profitable investments at any time produced on the display. When founder Neil Westwood entered the Den in 2008, the organization was turning above £45,000 a yr. In 2014, it made £1.1m.
“The Dragons have each and every experienced over £100,000 in dividends because they invested,” stated Mr Westwood.
The purchase-back deal was completed at the finish of very last year, after the Westwoods approached the traders to reclaim their stake in the company. “We needed to have far more handle more than our foreseeable future, and move the whole business to our children,” Mr Westwood mentioned.
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The buy-again took just two weeks to go via, and was “very amicable”, in accordance to Mr Westwood, who launched the business with wife Laura in 2006.
The Dragons every gained £305,000 for their stake in the business. “I just swapped the cash for the share certificates, we did not want solicitors,” stated Mr Westwood.
“It was a memorable minute going into the lender and waiting around in line to transfer £600,000. Everyone in the queue was staring at me, waiting to do their direct debits. It was nuts.”
Dragon Theo Paphitis with Laura and Neil Westwood
Now that the organization is again in the hands of its original founders, revenues are increasing speedily, and the organization is on concentrate on to change over £1.5m this year with revenue of £400,000.
“You work tougher when it’s all yours,” admitted Mr Westwood, adding that whilst he wished he had offered away significantly less equity on Dragons’ Den, the assist of Ms Meaden and Mr Paphitis experienced been a must have.
“Theo put Magic Whiteboards in 257 Rymans and Deborah assisted a great deal with PR and marketing and advertising.”
The company has just released its reusable notebook, and has taken on three customers of workers, bringing the team to 8 people.
This is only the 2nd time in the background of Dragons’ Den that an investee enterprise has purchased back their equity.
Very last year, Denise Hutton-Gosney bought back Duncan Bannatyne’s stake in her theatre and dance business Razzmatazz. He acquired 25pc of her enterprise for £50,000 in 2007. Mrs Hutton-Gosney purchased again the stake for £70,000.