Deborah Meaden: The Holiday Park Owner Turned Dragon
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden was born on 11 February 1959 and built her business reputation not in television but in the holiday trade, running Weststar Holidays, a family operator of static caravan parks based in Devon.
She joined Weststar in 1992, worked her way up to managing director, and later took a shareholding through a management buyout before selling the business in 2005, the deal that funded her move into wider investing.
Selling Weststar
The 2005 sale of Weststar Holidays to Phoenix Equity Partners was reported at around £33 million, a figure that gave Meaden the capital base she still draws on when she talks about what she looks for in a pitch.
That background in a seasonal, capital heavy leisure business is part of why she is known on the show for pressing founders hard on cash flow and margin rather than being swayed by a good pitch alone.
Joining the Den
Meaden joined Dragons' Den in its third series in 2006, a year after Peter Jones and the original panel had already established the format, and has remained one of its longest serving investors since.
Outside the studio she has built a public profile around environmental and animal welfare causes, holding roles including trustee of the Tusk Trust and fellow of WWF, work she has folded into a second career fronting BBC Radio 5 Live's The Big Green Money Show.