TV Dragon backs wild child with an idea that delivers

11 September 2020

A former "wild child" who was expelled from five London schools has landed a £50,000 Dragons' Den investment in his jogging delivery firm.

Henry Buckley and his business partner JJ Harding had four of the BBC reality show's celebrity entrepreneurs fighting each other for a stake in their fledgling enterprise, which employs more than 200 runners to deliver companies' flyers across London.

Mr Buckley, 29, impressed the Dragons on Sunday's programme with his vision for JogPost. The Fulham firm has doubled its turnover every three months since it launched last year and now posts 250,000 leaflets a week.

Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne and new Dragon Hilary Devey were keen, but Mr Buckley chose to go with West Country businesswoman Deborah Meaden, who offered £50,000 for a 20 per cent stake.

Mr Buckley was expelled from his first school, £15,000-a-year Latymer Upper in Hammersmith, aged 14 and struggled to stay in full-time education after that, getting kicked out for fighting from Ibstock Place, Ealing College, Kensington Park School and Richmond College. He went on to spend 10 years travelling the world and lived in Colombia, Thailand and Brazil, funded by temporary sales work in London.

He has been living with his parents while he developed the business but is about to buy his first home, in Chelsea. "I was partying throughout my twenties but when I turned 28 I felt properly grown up and decided to come back to London to start working seriously," he said.

"Since then, JogPost has changed my life. I've always hated working for other people, but being the boss is a great feeling. Dragons' Den was the perfect platform to develop the business and it was funny seeing these important people compete for a stake."

A BBC insider said: "It was one of the most exciting moments ever in the Den. Henry clearly made a very strong impression." Since the show aired on Sunday, Mr Buckley said, his phone has been "ringing off the hook" - and not all to do with his business. "I've had so many attractive girls asking me on dates," he laughed.

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