Tuesday 15 October 2013 Emerging from a turbulent few years, personally and professionally, Duncan Bannatyne is now feeling optimistic about the future of his business empire and declares he has no regrets. Duncan was speaking this week at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL), as one of the high profile authors appearing at Ilkley Literature Festival He took the audience of around 400 on a journey from his early life in Clydebank to his successful business career and celebrity status as one of BBC TV’s ‘Dragons’. During the question and answer session with interviewer Simon Ashberry, chair of Ilkley Literature Festival, Duncan spoke about his childhood, his time in the Royal Navy and the expansion of his business from a single ice cream van in the north east of England to a multi-million pound enterprise. As Duncan was riding high in business however, the global recession started to bite, and he spoke candidly about the setbacks he has faced in business and in his personal life, as charted in Riding the Storm, a new memoir published in September by Random House. Despite debt repayments of £10 million a year to the bank, Duncan remains upbeat about the future – with a deal under negotiation for his business, he finds great fulfilment through his charity work and loves every minute in the ‘Dragons’ Den’. As he said: “I have no regrets in life, my mistakes made me who I am and I’m very happy with who I am.” GSAL is a major sponsor of the Ilkley Literature Festival, through its association with the Children’s Festival. The event ‘Duncan Bannatyne: Riding the Storm’ was sponsored by accountants Garbutt & Elliott and Irwin Mitchell Solicitors. General News
