Duncan Bannatyne

At 75 years old, Duncan Bannatyne has this physical status:

Career

Bannatyne spent his twenties shifting from one job to another. He started off as an agricultural vehicle fitter and then travelled around the country rebuilding tractors. He lived on the island of Jersey for four years, starting with a HGV licence and working in various capacities, including deckchair attendant, ice cream maker, and hospital porter. On the island, he surfed, partied, and married his first wife. Bannatyne and his wife returned to Stockton-on-Tees, Jersey's tough business climate for strangers at the age of 29. He has said he was insecure and did not have a bank account until the age of 30.

With an ice cream van bought for £450, his company began almost immediately after arriving in Stockton-on-Tees. During the Glasgow Ice Cream Wars, he soon increased by purchasing more vans. He sold the company for £28,000, establishing Quality Care Homes, a nursing home company that he later sold for £26 million in 1997 and the children's nursery chain Just Learning for £12 million. Michael Fallon, the Just Learning chief executive during the 1992–97 period, died while out of office as an MP.

Bannatyne has since expanded into health clubs, with the Bannatyne Health Club & Spa chain as his name, as well as hotels and properties. In August 2006, he purchased 26 health clubs from Hilton Hotels for £92 million. With 71 locations, the Bannatyne Group is the country's biggest independent health club chain. The company currently (June 2018) has 46 spas with plans for more, including at its first Northern Ireland-based health club in Belfast, and it operates four hotels.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List, his fortune as of 2018, which was estimated at £280 million.

Bannatyne has written seven books: Anyone Can Do It, Wake Up and Change Your Life, How to Be Effective With Your Money, How to Be Effective With Your Time, 43 Business Mistakes Every Business Needs to Answer, 37 Questions People In Business Wants To Answer, and Riding The Storm.

Bannatyne appeared on BBC television show Dragons' Den from 2005 to 2015. During his time on the show, he invested in 36 companies.

Bannatyne appeared in the fifteenth season of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" Operation Smile charity was paid for his participation in the show.

Bannatyne appeared in the BBC series The Real Marigold Hotel in 2020. He appeared on television, including Britt Ekland, Henry Blofeld, John Altman, Susie Blake, and Barbara Dickson.

Bannatyne received an OBE for his work with charities such as Mary's meals. Over a ten-year span in Romania, he has funded many projects, including Casa Bannatyne, a HIV and AIDS charity in Târgu-Mureş, which he funded with £80,000. In March 2008, he founded the Bannatyne Charitable Trust.

Bannatyne's support for the launch of the Geared for Giving Campaign at the House of Commons was given on May 19th, 2008, to encourage UK business leaders to develop and promote a Workplace Giving initiative to benefit UK registered charities by increasing tax-effective donations made by staff. He then helped promote the scheme at Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank by providing ATM (Automated Teller Machine) rolls. Bannatyne says, "They're really going for it, because over 21% of their employees are contributing through this scheme."

Bannatyne appeared on television show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, raising £20,000 for charity NCH on August 29, 2008.

In October 2008, he became President of No Smoking Day. The charity supports people who wish to quit smoking by running the annual health awareness campaign. This came after he made a documentary about British American Tobacco.

He accepted the Patron of PC David Rathband's Blue Lamp Foundation, a charity established by Northumbrian Police Constable David Rathband, who was blinded by gunshot wounds in the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt.

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