Entrepreneur has been able to secure the support of Dragons Peter Jones and Duncan Banatyne. An former Dragons contestant has opened the door to private equity investment with her name and brand for free and set for “skyrocket” by the end of 2024. Kirsty Henshaw started her business at-home from her kitchen home in Preston in 2009 and has since set out to make a profit of PS25m in the coming three years. Despite being told by a bank that the applicant “had no chance”, she was able to obtain the assistance of Dragons Peter Jones and Duncan Banatyne when she submitted her application for the 2010 series after drinking a whole bottle of vino to help in calming her anxieties.
An exclusive conversation with BusinessLive she has acknowledged her experience with the famous BBC show has affected her business as well as her plans to expand in the near future and the possibility of opening a new manufacturing facility near Hale, where she lives. Hale. Kirsty is the director of management. The company was sold to Dragons in 2013 with her business partner Mike but their impact on the company’s young age continues to be felt today. The virus Covid-19 impacted businesses all over the UK in various ways. Kirsty’s was among the fortunate ones who was capable of increasing its sales to more than 11% by 2021.
However, the MD said it could get “so much better” and the situation is going through the process of “skyrocket”. She also said: “It should have been substantially more that 11 percent. The reason for this was Covid and shortages left and center. So we could have had an amazing year. “2022 will be 20 percent more than before, but it’s predicted to increase in 2023 thanks to the new equipment we’ve purchased and the equipment we’ve acquired.
The company is managed privately through Kirsty as well as her co-business partner.
The company has been a separate entity since the dissolution of The Dragons at the close of 2013. However, the MD has indicated that she’s looking to get external funding to allow her business to grow to the next level. “We are still privately owned by myself and Mike but we may get to the point where we look at bringing in an investor or another source of funding” she said. “We are contemplating the possibility of angel investor financing, or private equity funding however it’s with an organization similar to us and possibly operating in the same field.
