Dragons' Den star quits show

Admin | 08:00 Monday 10th January 2011 | 12

One of the stars of hit TV programme, Dragons' Den, has announced that he is leaving the show to focus on other work commitments.

James Caan - CEO and founder of Hamilton Bradshaw Private Equity, which was recently named as one of the ‘Top 50 Global Human Capital Companies’ - has announced that he will not be taking part in the new series of Dragons’ Den due to his increasing work and philanthropic commitments.

Explaining his decision, Mr Caan said: “I have enjoyed my time in the Dragons' Den immensely, and it has been great working with the other dragons and the team on the show. However, my work and philanthropic interests mean I cannot devote the time required to the Den any longer. Dragons' Den has been an integral and exciting part of my professional life and I thank the show profusely for letting me be a part of it for so long.”

James has just been appointed a member of Vince Cable’s business forum as well as being made chairman of The Big Issue magazine. He has also recently entered into the luxury residential market through his new company HB Real Estate whose first property deal was funded by the bridging lender Drawbridge, as reported by Bridging and Commercial.

His commitments through the James Caan Foundation have also increased in the recent past following the devastating floods in Pakistan.

JCF was formed in 2006 primarily to assist with educating some of the six million children in Pakistan not enrolled in schools, but following the flooding of an area the size of Britain which affected over 20 million and killed 1600 people, this disaster has now become the priority of the foundation. They are focused on combating the spread of cholera and other water-borne diseases as well as rebuilding a village for 1000 Pakistanis. Furthermore, the JCF continues to support a number of charities in the UK such as The Prince’s Trust and Marie Curie Cancer Research.

During his four years on Dragons’ Den Caan invested over £1 million in budding entrepreneurs, and this week he launched a new book based on his 30 years in the recruitment industry called Get the Job You Really Want. The new publication follows in the footsteps of his autobiography The Real Deal.

By Frank Burbage

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