It was founded by one ‘Dragon’ and rescued by two others.
Now Red Letter Days, the company launched by Rachel Elnaugh and bought out of administration in 2005 by her fellow Dragons’ Den judges Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis, has recorded its second year in profit.
The London-based outfit – which sells experiences including hot-air ballooning, supercar driving, bungee jumping and skydiving – made a profit of £404,700 in the year to the end of last December compared with £372,300 the previous year on a turnover of £13million.
Rachel Elnaugh, founder of Red Letter Days
Phones entrepreneur Jones and retail specialist Paphitis, who have each lent the company £2.2million, said they were both ‘fully committed’ to supporting the business.
Elnaugh founded Red Letter Days when she was 24 and ran the company for more than a decade, but she was humiliated when it collapsed with debts of £12million while she was appearing on BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.
She left the show and later wrote a book about her experiences, called Business Nightmares.
Today she makes a living by giving speeches at business events and by mentoring small businesses.
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