The Apprentice (series 11) - official thread

[gordonchas]

Companies House website documents shows Dr Leah Ltd - 50% owned by Leah Totton, 50% owned by Sugar (via one of his companies). She put in £100 for 100 shares, Sugar's company put in £250,000 for 100 shares. The £250,100 went into the company bank account, the company made a loss of £50K in Yr 1 and now the bank balance is £190K, having covered the losses and bought some assets etc.

Therefore, those accounts clearly show it is Sugar's company's money that is financing the losses and working capital in Yr 1.

Not exactly. The accounts show that morninglordsugar also has £100 of share capital, the balance of £249,900 is shown in reserves where it will be protected. I agree that the money financed the first year losses, however note that it's nowhere even close to the headline figure of the supposed "investment" - £250k.

There was never any intention to fund the business to that extent, therefore the very idea that he is actually putting £250k into establishing these businesses is a lie. This is my point; the common thread in all these companies is that the figure of £1million so often quoted during this series is still sitting pretty much intact in all the various bank accounts. It hasn't been used to finance the running of businesses.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Not exactly. The accounts show that morninglordsugar also has £100 of share capital, the balance of £249,900 is shown in reserves where it will be protected. I agree that the money financed the first year losses, however note that it's nowhere even close to the headline figure of the supposed "investment" - £250k.

There was never any intention to fund the business to that extent, therefore the very idea that he is actually putting £250k into establishing these businesses is a lie. This is my point; the common thread in all these companies is that the figure of £1million so often quoted during this series is still sitting pretty much intact in all the various bank accounts. It hasn't been used to finance the running of businesses.

But the accounts show that the money in the bank is only £190K, so £60K has gone right there.

 

[gordonchas]

But the accounts show that the money in the bank is only £190K, so £60K has gone right there.

please re-read what I wrote. Final sentence of first paragraph.

Also, check the accounts of the other winners' companies.

 

[Pavilionaire]

please re-read what I wrote. Final sentence of first paragraph.

Also, check the accounts of the other winners' companies.

I've done that and I think what you're saying is that Sugar's willing to take a manageable loss in Year 1 but likes to have his £250K back in the bank by the end of Year 2, he hasn't taken much of a risk.

Sugar described himself as a gambler on this week's show but his track record shows him to be anything but. The PlayDate app would be easily the biggest financial risk he's taken in recent years on the show, perhaps ever, but he has been known to have a proper flutter, i.e bailing out Spurs 25 years ago.

There is no doubt he will make some money if he invest with Joseph - it is very low risk, but he made his name in computers and I fancy he's genuinely fascinated by the potential in the app market. Ultimately, Sugar has to take a punt on someone like Vana because otherwise the investment he ends up making is nothing more than you'd get on an average episode of Dragon's Den. The viewers deserve more than that for 12 weeks of perseverance.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Its the final tonight!

 

[Simster]

So far, so absolutely shit.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

If he already has a company how come he's changing the logo n stuff

 

[Beach Hut]

Watching on catch up and really want Vana to win

 

[Wrong-Direction]

The plumber wins it! Ah shoot that's more competition for me now!

 

[drew]

The woman in the middle of the panel seems to have had a 'something about mary' moment with her hair!!

 

[Wrong-Direction]

The woman in the middle of the panel seems to have had a 'something about mary' moment with her hair!!

She looks terrifying

 

[BN9 BHA]

A plumber wins it

The elite trade.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

A plumber wins it

The elite trade.

Hope he doesn't take over our patch!

 

[BN9 BHA]

Hope he doesn't take over our patch!

No chance, not with [MENTION=25123]SIMMO SAYS[/MENTION] running the show

 

[Beach Hut]

Damn, bad choice

 

[Spider]

So all of that and the business pitch he chooses after weeks of intense trials is a plumber. A plumber with 3 engineers. Wow. It was also noticeable that Josef wasn't even pitching his idea any more at all - the whole point of his company was that he was franchising plumbers, this was not mentioned once. So it literally was just a plumber buying a few more vans. The show hits new lows!

 

[Billy the Fish]

I can't believe that on live TV Magim told Alan he'll be dead soon!

 

[gordonchas]

Hope he doesn't take over our patch!

I wouldn't worry yourself.

So all of that and the business pitch he chooses after weeks of intense trials is a plumber. A plumber with 3 engineers. Wow. It was also noticeable that Josef wasn't even pitching his idea any more at all - the whole point of his company was that he was franchising plumbers, this was not mentioned once. So it literally was just a plumber buying a few more vans. The show hits new lows!

I refer you to my posts at #235 and #241. The whole programme is based on a lie.

 

[Spider]

I wouldn't worry yourself.



I refer you to my posts at #235 and #241. The whole programme is based on a lie.

Oh I realise that - although your posts were interesting as I didn't realise quite how deceptive the 'investment' aspect was - I'd always sort of assumed it was just the prize money for the show given the label of being Lord Sugar's money, although I realise now that that would create complications in terms of shares and ownership.

What was really bizarre tonight though, in terms of the narrative of the show (because that's really all the average viewer cares about - anyone with any business clue would realise what a farce the whole thing is), is that the business that Josef was pitching was not the business he explained last week. There was absolutely no mention of the franchising aspect, which was the whole point of his business plan. Without this is was literally just putting a bit of cash towards a plumber buying a few new vans and hiring a couple of extra engineers. The fact that this was the result of a process which spends the whole time trying to position itself in a corporate setting, is bizarre.

 

[Algernon]

Joseph (Joe) Valente is a very close mate of my Son and my two Daughters. He lived together with my Son in a shared house a while back. He's a good lad, obviously has a lot of character and our whole family are chuffed he won. He's a right cheeky chap. Well done Joe!