Sarah Willingham: The Hospitality Investor in the Den
Sarah Willingham
Sarah Willingham built her career in restaurants, working in senior roles in the sector before buying and turning around the Indian restaurant chain Bombay Bicycle Club.
She later invested in and led the London Cocktail Club, a group of bars that expanded across London and beyond and was eventually sold to the listed hospitality group Nightcap.
Hospitality economics
Restaurants and bars live or die on rent, staff cost and covers per night, and her public commentary has consistently come back to those fundamentals rather than to the concept on the menu.
She has also been a visible voice on household money, appearing on consumer finance programmes as well as business ones.
Three series
Willingham joined Dragons' Den in 2015 for the thirteenth series, in the same intake as Nick Jenkins and Touker Suleyman, and left after the fifteenth series in 2017.
Food and drink pitches are a staple of the show, and for those three series she was the panellist most likely to have already run the kind of business standing in front of her.
Products Sarah Willingham backed in the Den
Love Me Beauty
presented as beauty products subscription service
Craft Clubs Ltd
described as craft gin subscription business
Sublime Science
pitched as science-themed children's birthday parties and workshops
