15-6-2011
APPRENTICE CANDIDATES’ CATALOGUE OF BUSINESS FAILURES
Tom Pellereau’s business is worth minus £15,597 with a turnover of just £500 last year
Candidates boast a record of dissolved businesses
Candidates’ business have credit scores so low companies are advised to secure payment up front when trading with them
Creditsafe’s analysis of the directorship history of the candidates featured on the BBC’s hit show The Apprentice reveals their vaunted boasts of business acumen may not stand up to scrutiny. The bespectacled Tom Pellereau claims to be a successful inventor, however the company he co-founded in 2008 M&P Consulting turned over just £500 last year and has a net worth of minus £15,597.
A number of candidates are directors of businesses deemed risky for companies to trade with. Surviving candidate
Melody Hossaini, the sole director of Inspirengage, and
Leon Doyle, the only director of The Menu Master Limited, both head up companies with low credit ratings. Companies trading with their businesses are advised to only grant credit against collateral because of the risk of these companies entering insolvency in the next 12 months.
Ambitious
Susan Ma, founder of Tropic Skin Care Limited, criticised for being too meek when dealing with other candidates boasts of a successful business. She newly incorporated her business on the 27th January this year after claiming that she had to temporarily close the website in 2010 because of the overwhelming number of orders; however the company has a low credit rating and firms are urged to be cautious when trading with Tropic Skin Care Limited.
Felicity Jackson, fired by Lord Sugar, is the founder and sole director of Surviving Actors Limited, which also has a low credit rating.
David Knowles, Business Development Director at Creditsafe, said: “It appears the boasts of financial wizardry and business brilliance by many of the candidates featured on the BBC’s The Apprentice are pure hot air. Lord Sugar Alan will need to use all his business savvy to guide the winning candidate and ensure his £250,000 investment is not squandered. Businesses interested in understanding the real performance of a company director can utilise credit referencing solutions to track not just the performance of their current company, but also their history to establish if they have a track record of success or failure.”
Seven of the Apprentice candidates have no experience as a director of a limited company, including Helen Louise Milligan winner of the first six weeks’ challenges. Glenn Ward, Zoe Beresford, Jim Eastwood, Natasha Scribbins have no previous experience as company directors, but are still in the hunt for the prize demonstrating ambition and a passionate desire to become entrepreneurs in partnership with Lord Sugar. Edward Hunter and Alex Britez Cabral also had no direct experience and exited the competition at an early stage.
Lord Alan jettisoned
Gavin Winstanley one of the few candidates with experience of running their successful business. At the age of just 27 Gavin is the founder and sole director of two companies,
www.glasses123.co.uk and Optical World Merseyside Limited, which are both rated as creditworthy.
Knowles continued:
“It is important when looking to invest or trade with any business that you look at the fundamentals of the operation and are not seduced by the personality of the directors. Companies that do not wish to be caught out by trading with a business that has a significant likelihood of entering insolvency can use utilise credit referencing services to minimise their risk.”
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