0:00:02 > 0:00:04Hilary Devey, multi-millionaire businesswoman...
0:00:04 > 0:00:06I've said we're number one, so we will be.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09- ..industry revolutionary... - Fine them, they won't do it again.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11..and the newest Dragon in the Den.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19But how did a girl from Bolton become the queen of logistics
0:00:19 > 0:00:23and take up residency in one of those iconic seats?
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Tonight we find out.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28I own 100% of this business.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32The reason this has gone as far as it's gone,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35is because I have been at liberty to say, "Yes, we're doing it."
0:00:35 > 0:00:39With unprecedented access to her life outside the Den...
0:00:39 > 0:00:43I certainly don't measure my success by this.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45This is just concrete.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49..We'll find how this Dragon really does business.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53'I'd love to take it a step further. It has something I can snuggle up in.'
0:00:53 > 0:00:56If he wants exclusivity, then I want something back.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Where the success has come at a cost.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04My son, I must have been blind, did turn to hard drugs.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07And what happened to make her the woman she is today.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Even though the house was a tiny little terrace,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13it was very nice and very well furnished.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19Until the day the bailiffs walked in and took everything away.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This year saw a vacancy arise for a multi-millionaire
0:01:32 > 0:01:35fierce enough to join and compete
0:01:35 > 0:01:40with a long-established Dragon line-up. Step forward, Hilary Devey.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48The first morning when I was travelling to the Den
0:01:48 > 0:01:51I was thinking, "Oh, my God, what have I done? What have I done?"
0:01:51 > 0:01:56I had to say to the driver, "Pull over, I've got to be sick."
0:01:56 > 0:02:00She looked like somebody that was completely thrown into the deep end.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I wasn't even sure, did she really want to be there? She looked scared.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I was really, really nervous, initially.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15But I guess I then thought, "Ah hell, Hils, you know, I'm as good as them.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20"I'm damn used to hard work." So, I thought, "Just go for it, Hils!"
0:02:20 > 0:02:26I can't wait. I'm waiting for this to come on with the right product and the right person.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28I'd like to make you an offer.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38She showed a remarkable ability really, just to settle into that chair.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Made quite clear she was in command of the situation.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43She wasn't going to take nonsense. She wasn't going to defer
0:02:43 > 0:02:45to the others because they had more experience,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47why should she?
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Forget the Maruishi experience. We're on Planet Earth in Dragon's Den.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54She was brave.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57She didn't kind of slowly creep in to the Den. "I'm here!"
0:02:57 > 0:03:02How ridiculous of you to come and stand here and pitch to investors
0:03:02 > 0:03:04when you haven't got that information,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07because, by God, man, it's your job to have that information.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15Some say,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18that to become a Dragon,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21you've got to be rich, you've got to be powerful.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I'd like to know what you want from a Dragon.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- OK.- Then I want to tell you what I can give you.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I say you're born a Dragon.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Hilary was born a Dragon.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40When that beast is hungry, it wants feeding.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54It's late November, and Hilary's 20-acre logistics empire
0:03:54 > 0:03:58has its headquarters here in Leicestershire, just off the M1.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I own 100% of this business.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08The reason this business has gone as far as it's gone
0:04:08 > 0:04:13in so short a time as it's gone, is because I have been at liberty to say,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"Yes, we're doing it. We're doing it now."
0:04:20 > 0:04:23She is an extremely demanding person
0:04:23 > 0:04:27to work with, as you would expect.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29At times, that can be bloody frustrating.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35'We have our moments. We still have our arguments.'
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Basically, we argue until I agree with her.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- HE LAUGHS - It's as simple as that.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48The biggest fault I've got
0:04:48 > 0:04:52is I'm a perfectionist.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Some dirty trailers coming in here now.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58We'll get network on that.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02'I know I drive them insane. I drive the membership insane.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03'I pick at them.'
0:05:03 > 0:05:07If I see a dirty vehicle on the motorway, I take the reg down and phone them the next day
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and say, "That was absolutely filthy."
0:05:10 > 0:05:16"It's been out, it's been on a trip. It's got dirty. It rained. It was muddy."
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Well, that's no excuse, because I am an absolute perfectionist.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28And it's that perfectionist streak that has grown her business
0:05:28 > 0:05:31to turnover a reported £100 million a year
0:05:31 > 0:05:33based on a remarkably simple business model.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Instead of criss-crossing the country delivering pallets full of goods to each other,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48her membership of nearly 100 independent haulage companies,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52now have just two journeys to make.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56From their base to Hilary's hub
0:05:56 > 0:06:00and back again.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03One full load dropping off, one full load heading home.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10And the end of costly empty trucks travelling our motorways.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12I wasn't the first with this concept.
0:06:12 > 0:06:18I wasn't the first either to have developed a hauliers membership network.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21But what I can say, and what I'm very proud of,
0:06:21 > 0:06:28is that I made a lot of changes to the original model and I've done very, very well with it.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39This is it, this is where Pall-Ex began.
0:06:42 > 0:06:4715 years ago, Hilary's vision for the future of pallet-based goods
0:06:47 > 0:06:50was housed here in the East Midland village of Wymeswold.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59I mean, now today, it looks quite swish, compared to how it did look.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I remember the very first time coming to look at this hangar,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and glancing over to my left, there was all these rats playing.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11I thought, "Oh, my God, I'm going to be living with rats."
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Now, an experienced company race track.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Then, an old aircraft hangar waiting for a new owner.
0:07:21 > 0:07:28Hauliers were notoriously antiquated in their methodology of moving goods around the country.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31"This is how we do it. We'll never do it any other way."
0:07:31 > 0:07:36There was absolutely no collaboration between hauliers at all.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I thought, "This is ridiculous."
0:07:39 > 0:07:4329th November 1996,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45that first night of operation
0:07:45 > 0:07:50followed driving thousands and thousands of miles,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52selling this concept to hauliers.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57They were sceptical anyway. "Can you drive a truck, love?"
0:07:57 > 0:08:00"Well, no, I can't, but I can run your business better than you can."
0:08:00 > 0:08:05So, really, what I was doing was selling all my lovely hauliers a dream.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12One man who bought into the dream early on,
0:08:12 > 0:08:18was, at the time, an established operations director for a Yorkshire haulier, Adrian Russell.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Hilary managed to prize him away to join her fledgling management dream.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29We'd been working together on and off for years.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34And she'd talked about the palletised freight network
0:08:34 > 0:08:37as being something that she totally believed in.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40She saw the potential. There's something about Hilary.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43She's an incredible sales person.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48I think that's part of the power of persuasion that she has, which is why I joined her.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53She sold me, and the original members of Pall-Ex, the vision.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59When she secured the members, she hadn't even secured the warehouse.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03So she'd got an empty hand in some respect.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07But, um, sheer determination.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12All I could think of this place is the cold that seeped into your bones
0:09:12 > 0:09:17and constantly wanting a wee but constantly not having one,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20because there was no way I was sharing two chemical loos
0:09:20 > 0:09:24with 50 or 60 guys because, you know,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28they might be able to throw a dart at a dartboard from ten feet away,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33but get them in a toilet cubicle and they can't aim from bloody three inches away, can they?
0:09:33 > 0:09:38So, there is no way that I was ever going to sit on them pee-ridden seats.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43It's a male-dominated world and I was this mere female
0:09:43 > 0:09:47that had dared to intrude on their world
0:09:47 > 0:09:50and tell them what they was doing wrong and what they could,
0:09:50 > 0:09:56if they did it in a different way, how much more money they could make.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59If I'd have said it, um,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I think the place would have been awash with testosterone and blood.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07- But these guys accepted it from you, didn't they?- Yeah, yeah.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12It just goes to show that a manicured fist can go through a glass ceiling
0:10:12 > 0:10:17quite as easily as a builder's one or, in this case, the HGV driver.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22Like other businesses who now run similar models,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Hilary needed to ensure she had a big enough volume of goods in her warehouse hub,
0:10:26 > 0:10:32that would make haulage companies find it worthwhile to pay her both a membership fee, and a payment
0:10:32 > 0:10:35for each individual pallet that they dropped off or picked up.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39It was not the easiest sell to an industry
0:10:39 > 0:10:41notorious for its small margins.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48I owe an awful lot to the members of this business
0:10:48 > 0:10:53who are hauliers who work damn hard for very low margins -
0:10:53 > 0:10:56incredibly long hours in an incredibly hard industry.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00It is like a family atmosphere.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05And that's where the loyalty comes from. Where Hilary expects it
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and we give it and vice versa. And it works. You are part of a family.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12It's enabled us to become successful in our own right
0:11:12 > 0:11:14as a small company, many years ago,
0:11:14 > 0:11:1715 years ago, when we first set the business up.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21We've become successful because of Pall-Ex. Pall-Ex has become successful
0:11:21 > 0:11:23because of the quality of the members in the organisation.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Never heard of Hilary at all before we met her.
0:11:28 > 0:11:3215 year ago. She walked into our lives -
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Stalkers Transport - I can remember the day.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40She basically straightaway started firing questions at Paul and I.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42It was like meeting the Gestapo, really.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45We used to be frightened to death of her. And still are.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47No, we're not.
0:11:47 > 0:11:53So, at that particular time, I didn't know a great lot about pallet organisations, pallet networks.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58But, after having half an hour with Hilary, being battered to death,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01I understood all about pallet networks.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03She was very persistent. But, unfortunately,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I'm one of those people who don't take fools lightly.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09To be honest with you, I couldn't honestly believe
0:12:09 > 0:12:11what she was telling me was reality.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I thought, to be honest, when she'd gone, with the greatest respect,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and I'll say it with respect, "Thank God for that, she's gone."
0:12:19 > 0:12:24Half an hour later, I came out of the meeting, and Gerald says to me, "How did you get on?"
0:12:24 > 0:12:29I said, "Well, fantastic. I think I've joined a pallet network." And that's how it started.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34In the end, Hilary convinced enough firms to join her
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and today she runs one of the most successful businesses in the industry.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Earlier this year, she entered a totally new business environment.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47She was the new Dragon. And that can have its drawbacks.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I guess I was an unknown quantity at that stage.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Nobody wanted little Hils, did they?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Nobody knew anything about me.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01You know, "What's logistics?" The fact that the whole country would come to a standstill
0:13:01 > 0:13:06and there'd be no manufacturing or retailing without logistics is...academic.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11But two young mums from Clapham had no such concerns.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Andrea McDowell and Rebecca Baldwin entered the Den this year hoping for £60,000
0:13:20 > 0:13:25of Dragon cash for 20% of their alternative wedding video venture.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32We are the only wedding videography company
0:13:32 > 0:13:38that hires out broadcast-quality video cameras to be given to friends and family before the wedding,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41and then they each take it in turns to film the day.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44We edit whatever they film into a professional wedding DVD.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48We offer a one-camera package for £849
0:13:48 > 0:13:51and a two-camera package for £949.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57So, I'm going to play you a brief video, to show why our videos are different.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58It's going really well.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- Where are the shirts? - Tell everyone tomorrow.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04'My brain was running all over with the concept.'
0:14:04 > 0:14:08I just thought, "I can go places with these. I can do something with them."
0:14:08 > 0:14:10I think it's a fantastic idea.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- Thank you. - Congratulations to you both.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I think you will go
0:14:17 > 0:14:20very far, very fast.
0:14:20 > 0:14:26I could think of hundreds of ideas to get you there - hundreds.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29I got the sense with Shoot It Yourself that Hilary wanted it
0:14:29 > 0:14:33in quite an impulsive way and was going to try and knock us all out of the game.
0:14:33 > 0:14:40My game plan was I wanted it. And I thought, "Why prevaricate?"
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I don't play poker.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I don't play poker in business either. If I want something,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48if I want somebody's business, I tell them.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Without listening to what the other Dragons have got to say,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55I'd like to make you an offer.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00I will offer you the full amount for 26% of your business.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08I didn't actually know what to do. My face said it all. Both of our faces. We just couldn't believe it.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Hilary thought, "Cut the messing around, let's just get on with it.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14"Here's the money, 26%. Do you want to speak to the other Dragons?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17"If you don't, fine, it's mine."
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Hilary's tactics seemed to have won out,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and her rival Dragons chose not to compete.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28But the young entrepreneurs were not finished yet.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Hilary, we did come in wanting to really give away
0:15:32 > 0:15:3520% of our business. It's worth asking, isn't it? You have to ask.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40I think it was really rubbish as well. I should have been like, "No way, we're holding out for 20%."
0:15:40 > 0:15:45Like a big hard-nosed business woman.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50I just went, "Would you like to give us 20? Please. Instead? No?"
0:15:50 > 0:15:53No, because I think you need a lot of work.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Everyone goes to the back of the Den and goes, "What shall we do?"
0:16:04 > 0:16:08- We didn't. We just did the, "Let's talk out the side of our mouth."- Yeah.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- Hilary, we'd like to accept your offer.- Good.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Well done!
0:16:17 > 0:16:21We... I can't just believe what we've just done.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24We've just made a deal with a Dragon. I think we high fived.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- 'We did.'- 'We were so excited.'
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'I didn't want to share the deal.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31'I'm so pleased I wasn't put in that position.'
0:16:31 > 0:16:36That was because I went in early. So, I think, on that occasion,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41like I say, I'm very perceptive and I think I played my cards just right.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52Six months on, and how are the duo getting on with their new business partner?
0:16:52 > 0:16:57What Hilary can bring to the table, and what Hilary can do for our business, money can't buy.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01She's given us marketing director, she's given us her financial director.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03All our accounts are handled by her team now.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08We're moving into bigger offices. We've got a PR agent, who handles all of our media.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Everything she can do, she is doing to help us.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18So, with the deal signed, Andrea and Rebecca are pressing forward, expanding the business.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24We're going into corporate videos, in-house promotional training videos.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Videos for websites, for small businesses. We're going into Asian weddings.
0:17:28 > 0:17:34I think the most exciting thing at the moment is the school trips market.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Today, the duo are in Middlesex, meeting up with a school sports tour company
0:17:45 > 0:17:48who are interested in buying in their service.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Right, girls, here's your camera. Who's going to take charge?
0:17:53 > 0:17:59'I think the deal that's on the table with Sweet Chariot is going to be really, really interesting.'
0:17:59 > 0:18:02They can offer us an in to all the schools.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06They take 20,000 students away every single year on their school sports trips.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10So this will be a great introduction to the schools through them about what we offer.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18There are 30 girls here, playing lacrosse.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22If each parent bought a DVD for 50 quid, you do the maths.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- Because you can't. - Because I can't - actually.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30So now we're going to show you some of the clips that you guys filmed, maybe give you some feedback.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34With the trial complete, the afternoon looks to have been a success.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37For us, it's about getting clips for the sports tours.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41For you guys, it's about getting in with a school.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46- And that's why I think you should be really excited about this. - We are.- We are.
0:18:52 > 0:18:58Having secured the offer of a potentially lucrative business deal...
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- Hello.- How are you?- I'm well.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Andrea and Rebecca now need to run it by their Dragon backer.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The school sports travel company came to us and contacted us,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13and said, "We'd really like to use your packages..."
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- What have you done about that? - We haven't taken it any further
0:19:16 > 0:19:20because he wants an exclusivity arrangement.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- For how long?- For a year.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Is he prepared to give a minimum?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- No.- Well, he can't have his cake and eat it, can he?
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- No.- If you want exclusivity,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33then I want something back.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37And I want a minimum order or minimum revenue.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42Because it's prohibiting you from going anywhere else.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45How do you know? You might just get one trip.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50And I think you've got to get a bit tough in commercial discussions with him.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52I'm there to help if you need that.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Brilliant, thank you. We might need that, mightn't we?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02With more detail to discuss before that particular deal gets signed,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05their core business is going strong.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09150 wedding videos already booked for next year.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13But Hilary is determined not to put a limit on their ambition.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16I think, even now, building the website isn't right.
0:20:16 > 0:20:23Can you honestly sit here today and tell me you're confident about how your website should look
0:20:23 > 0:20:28and what market you really, really want to target - which is going to be the most profitable market?
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- No.- No.- Well, then, we shouldn't even be bothering with it.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34- Right, OK. - We need to do the research.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39- Let's target the website to the most profitable market we want.- Yeah.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44- And then add the others as ancillaries.- Yeah, that's a really good idea, isn't it?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- Yeah, sounds like a plan.- Yeah.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52'Hilary, in half an hour, has done what we wouldn't have been able to do in our whole lifetime.'
0:20:52 > 0:20:55She's just whittled it down to what the actual problem is
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and she's given us a conclusion and a solution to that problem as well.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01The girls are hungry. They are.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05And they're determined - by God, are they determined!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09And so am I. You watch this space.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Hilary Devey was born in 1957,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22here in the former mill town of Bolton in Greater Manchester.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Today, she's visiting the site of her childhood family home,
0:21:26 > 0:21:32which was also the place where her dream of being her own boss was first forged.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I can't believe that was Raby Street.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I just can't believe it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47It's so different. It was nothing like this at all.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58Back in the 70s, much of Bolton's terraced housing was deemed substandard.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02The old Victorian back-to-backs made way for the promise
0:22:02 > 0:22:06of a new future in modern council housing.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Hilary's old street was completely demolished.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I remember all the streets. There were parallel streets.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27They'd all lead on to this street,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31which would then lead on to another street, which led to the church.
0:22:31 > 0:22:37Every Sunday we got sent to this church - morning, noon and night.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41I don't think it's because my parents were particularly religious,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44I think it's just because they wanted a day on their own.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47If we went without hassle, and did as we were told,
0:22:47 > 0:22:52then every Sunday afternoon, the ice cream van would come down and we was allowed an ice cream.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56We used to have what we'd call Singers Day,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00which was organised by the church, where all the little girls
0:23:00 > 0:23:03would dress up in lovely white dresses
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and we'd walk through the streets.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09I always had to have the nicest and best dress,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12although I never quite lived up to my mother's standards,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15because I was quite a tomboy, really,
0:23:15 > 0:23:20so I'd get put in a pretty dress in the morning and I'd end up black by lunchtime.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34The family left Raby Street when Hilary was six years old, and she hasn't been back since.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Our house would have been about there.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43At the bottom here, right at the very bottom, was a corner shop.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49My mum used to send me. She'd say, "Go on, run there, run back and I'm going to time you."
0:23:49 > 0:23:54I used to run down to the bottom of the corner shop, get what she wanted and run back in with it.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Every house was... Whilst they were a tiny little terrace,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03I think everybody tried quite hard to keep theirs immaculate.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06It used to be a competition with the women -
0:24:06 > 0:24:12who had the whitest net curtains and who had the whitest step, the shiniest brass letterbox.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17It was quite a nice atmosphere. I remember having lots of friends here
0:24:17 > 0:24:23whereas I can't remember any other time in my childhood I did have friends.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31My father used to put central heating in houses.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36He had probably 300, 400 guys working for him - central heating engineers.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39So, he made an awful lot of money.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44Even though the house was a tiny little terrace, it was very nice.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47It was very nice and very well furnished and, you know.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Until the day that, um... the bailiffs walked in
0:24:56 > 0:24:59and took everything away.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I was sat in the front room with my brother,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and my mother answered the door.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10My father was working away. And it was all because, I later learned,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15that, um, my father's business had gone under -
0:25:15 > 0:25:20become insolvent. In those days, you didn't have limited companies,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23so, obviously, the house was tied in to the business.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25So, not only did they lose their house,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30they lost every bit of furniture in it, including the beds, cooker
0:25:30 > 0:25:35and the sofa that my brother and I were sat on at the time.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40We were just left with two Jaffa boxes to sit on.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53I was obviously disturbed and I was obviously upset and, you know,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57it must have remained with me for the rest of my life because,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01you know, really, it's one of the first memories I've got of childhood.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It must be very deeply embedded in me.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I just, um,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15I just remember my mum being so upset that day - inconsolable.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Totally inconsolable.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22And I think that's why I thought, "This will never happen to me."
0:26:30 > 0:26:35One thing it did teach me is resilience, tenacity.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41I made my mind up that day that I would create something for myself
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that nobody would take from me.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Back in the Den,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03and Hilary's got her own thoughts on why she thinks she's made such a splash.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08The charm that you get from Boltonians is incredibly useful
0:27:08 > 0:27:12because I certainly know when to switch it on
0:27:12 > 0:27:14and it's always worked in my favour.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21But it was a kind of charm the likes of which we'd never seen before.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Where there's muck, there's luck.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Passion doesn't create profit.
0:27:25 > 0:27:31It's also about making money and about profitability - bottom line.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34She's brought in her very straight-talking attitude.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38- Marketing expertise is what I need. - Fine, can give you that, move on!
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- Help with strategy.- Fine, move on.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43It's gritty. It's just real.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47It's very direct, from the heart. "That's how I feel. That's what I'll say."
0:27:47 > 0:27:52That could either make you a million pound deal or lose it you.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57Even her gravelly voice, the way she talks, her expressions, everything, is so different.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00- It's a long, hard road.- Mm-hm.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Think about it.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07And it's nothing pretentious about Hilary.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12You may well sell a few but, commercially - no, love, no.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17My father used to say, "Hils, you're that bloody garrulous,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20"your tongue will get you hung one day."
0:28:20 > 0:28:24But, fortunately, it hasn't. Fortunately, it's stood me in good stead.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Shhh!
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Perhaps Hilary's most defining moment of this series
0:28:33 > 0:28:40happened during what Alan Sharrock had hoped would be a relaxing pitch for his self-help audio guides.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Out of your 500 members, how many attend per week?
0:28:45 > 0:28:49- Um...- And then tell me how many should.- I don't have that information, Hilary.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Alan became the first entrepreneur to face Hilary's wrath.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59- Forget the Maruishi experience, we're on Planet Earth in Dragons Den!- OK.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02You would make my foot itch, mate!
0:29:02 > 0:29:04"You're making my foot itch now!"
0:29:04 > 0:29:07And then, all of a sudden, bang, he gets smashed out of the Den.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11I'm not amused. I'm angry. I'm out.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16Don't...make... Hilary's...foot...itch.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19You would make my foot itch.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23I can remember the first time I heard, "You make my foot itch." I can remember going...
0:29:23 > 0:29:26I couldn't understand what she kept on about. "You make my foot itchy."
0:29:26 > 0:29:31I said, "What do you mean, you've got an itchy foot?" She said, "I want to kick him."
0:29:31 > 0:29:34He really did make my foot itch.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Had he carried on much longer, I think he'd have made my hand itch too.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43'Six months on.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46'And has Alan recovered from his ordeal in the Den?'
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Wouldn't it be nice if Hilary was sat here
0:29:50 > 0:29:54and we could have the two of us sat here together, holding hands?
0:29:54 > 0:29:57That would be quite nice, wouldn't it?
0:29:57 > 0:29:58He would drive me insane.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03The other thing to mention is that there's a recession on
0:30:03 > 0:30:09and people, some people can't afford to go on holiday to the Caribbean.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12- So they could come along to... - SIRENS WAIL
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And listen to the sirens(!)
0:30:18 > 0:30:22If she's ever in Shrewsbury, she can always pop in
0:30:22 > 0:30:26and we can share a drink together on my beach.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28And, um,...you know,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32I could even perform reflexology on her foot
0:30:32 > 0:30:35to stop it itching.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40'But it wasn't just her words that caught our imagination.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43'Hilary made us stand up and pay attention in another way.'
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Shoulder pads were one of the top trends on Twitter
0:30:47 > 0:30:51the night after the programme and the next morning.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54She's a larger-than-life character and she dresses that way.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57And the way she dresses hits you between the eyes.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59She's basically saying, "I am what I am,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02"take me for who I am and accept me for who I am".
0:31:02 > 0:31:04And that's why I love her.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06She doesn't care what anybody else thinks.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10She likes them, she'll wear them, she'll do her own thing. Great.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13I don't think it's very easy to describe Hilary to somebody
0:31:13 > 0:31:17who hasn't seen Hilary on TV.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Um...Hilary's a one-off.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Next series, I'll wear shoulder pads. Not even matching. Huh?
0:31:25 > 0:31:27HE LAUGHS
0:31:31 > 0:31:36'Back in Bolton, Hilary's meeting up with her cousin Janet.'
0:31:36 > 0:31:38- Hello, my little love.- Hi!
0:31:40 > 0:31:42'Having grown up together,
0:31:42 > 0:31:47'Janet's got one or two memories of Hilary's fashion sense, too.'
0:31:47 > 0:31:50I was about 11 or 12 there.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Look at the state of me trousers, Janet!
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Ooh! They're half-mast!
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I didn't care how I looked then, did I?
0:32:00 > 0:32:05'Hilary wasn't the only one in her family to stand out from the crowd.'
0:32:05 > 0:32:09- How do you remember me dad and me mum?- Do you know what?
0:32:09 > 0:32:14I used to think when Auntie Wyn and Uncle Arthur used to come,
0:32:14 > 0:32:19because your mum was always immaculately dressed. Always.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21And with you always having the businesses
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and you was the only one within the family
0:32:24 > 0:32:27whose parents was in business and that,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30and it was like, "Auntie Wyn and Uncle Arthur
0:32:30 > 0:32:34"must be really, you know, rich." And that, as a kid...
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Do you know, I think they wanted to give that perception.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39- Do you?- Yeah, I do.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41I used to think, "Oh, my God!"
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Because they were always...
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Do you know, I remember, even on a Sunday,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49- they'd put a shirt and tie on and... - Yes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52- If me dad went out, he'd put a suit on.- That's right.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54He was always immaculate.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58And my mother would always have her hair done, have her makeup done.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Lipstick. Red lipstick. Yeah. It was.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- So I suppose I were brought up with it really.- You were.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Do you know, he used to say to me,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- "Hils, if you dress like..."- Yeah.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12"..then people treat you like..."
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Correct. Yes.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18- It's true. - Sadly, it probably is true.- Yeah.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27But it wasn't only fashion sense Hilary learnt from her parents.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Having gone bankrupt, Hilary's dad needed to find a new job
0:33:30 > 0:33:32and a new home for his family.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36This pub in Farnworth in Bolton provided both.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40But was also the setting for some important early business lessons
0:33:40 > 0:33:41for the then 7-year-old.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48In the 60s, Mum and Dad went into pubs as tenants.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Landlord, landlady.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54I hated it. Absolutely hated it.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57And it was just lonely and isolating. I hated it.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05'The Railway Hotel was one of the first times
0:34:05 > 0:34:09'I've tasted hard graft in my life.'
0:34:09 > 0:34:13And it was a question of my dad coming upstairs one evening
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and saying, "Come on, our Hils, I want you down these stairs.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21"We're busy and I need some glasses washing. Come on, move it. Quick."
0:34:21 > 0:34:23- Would you like to have a look around?- Yeah, I'd love to.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Is it still the same, the pub?
0:34:31 > 0:34:33The bar hasn't changed at all.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37- And that used to be...There was a little room there.- That's right.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39And it was like a little snug.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44- Aye. I remember the fireplace, what they took out.- Yeah.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Cos the first thing my dad used to do on a morning
0:34:47 > 0:34:48was go out to roll the papers
0:34:48 > 0:34:51and he'd go around and light all the fires.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- That's right. Yeah. Yeah. - Bloody hell!
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Brilliant!
0:34:56 > 0:35:00My dad had an uncompromising work ethic.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02"You can sleep, you can eat, you can work."
0:35:02 > 0:35:07My dad would run us to school, if he decided to take us to school.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09If he'd got other jobs for me to do,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13like pull a pint or wash the ashtrays
0:35:13 > 0:35:16or clean the loos or Hoover,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19then I would do that instead of going to school.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27That's not a bad pint, I'll tell you.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30By the age of 11, I could cash up a till,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33balance the till, do the reordering,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37'close the bar up, clean the bar up.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41'And, you know, virtually run a business.'
0:35:41 > 0:35:44So I guess I'd got all the necessary business skills
0:35:44 > 0:35:46by the time I was 11 years of age.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50I always thought this pub was haunted.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53What's the ghost called we're supposed to have in the cellar?
0:35:53 > 0:35:55- Do you go down there? - Yeah. I say, "Hello, good night,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58"God bless, see you". You know?
0:35:58 > 0:36:01It's not gonna hurt me, is it?
0:36:01 > 0:36:06No. It's the living you've got to be aware of, isn't it? Not the dead.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11'I'm a workaholic. Total workaholic.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13'I'm a nightmare to live with.'
0:36:13 > 0:36:18You know, there is no such thing as a day ill in my life.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22Or a day off sick. It never happened.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24'Never ever happened.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26'You got up and you did what you had to do.'
0:36:26 > 0:36:28That's heartbreaking.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Why?
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Just you having to work that hard as a kid.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Oh, give over! Don't be so soft!
0:36:36 > 0:36:39It's not heartbreaking at all,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41it's bloody good for your soul.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Don't feel sorry for me. Christ, no!
0:36:43 > 0:36:48I mean, I'll tell you something, it was bloody hard work growing up
0:36:48 > 0:36:51and it was a lonely, lonely childhood,
0:36:51 > 0:36:55but there were lots of laughter and lots of love with me mum and dad.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59There was always lots of cuddles and, by God, we used to laugh.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08So Hilary had been given her first taste
0:37:08 > 0:37:10of what it takes to run a business.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13But she was desperate to find out about the wider world
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and she hit on a career that made best use of that Boltonian charm.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19Sales.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23I think I was a sales person from being born, really.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25I think I came out selling my way out.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27It's probably my upbringing.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I was brought up in pubs and clubs and hotels,
0:37:30 > 0:37:36so I always had to have kind of...social skills.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38I always interacted very well with people.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42Crikey, I've even sold door-to-door.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45I remember being up to my knees in snow
0:37:45 > 0:37:47in the middle of Yorkshire one day and thinking,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49"What the hell am I doing here?"
0:37:49 > 0:37:54And from there, I ended up with Tibbett & Britten.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I thought I was going to work in the rag trade.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Little did I know Tibbett & Britten was a logistics company
0:37:59 > 0:38:04who actually carried hanging garments for the rag trade.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Hilary come down from...I think she was working in Yorkshire.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12She was a northern sales rep.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15She appeared as an exotic creature on the scene.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18Her dress style then, as now, was somewhat exuberant.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23We were a pretty male society. We had this lively young lass.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27She gave the impression of being very open, but she was.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31- Naive, which she wasn't. - I think I was too lively for him!
0:38:31 > 0:38:33SHE LAUGHS
0:38:33 > 0:38:38He'd say to me, "Good God, can I have some of what she's had this morning?"
0:38:38 > 0:38:40She shamelessly used her northern charm.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44She came across as this lass who'd come to the wicked city
0:38:44 > 0:38:47and the wicked city fell for it.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50And it would be, "Go on, talk for me. Speak for me."
0:38:50 > 0:38:53And I'd say, "Well, I will if you sign my order form".
0:38:53 > 0:38:57I and others thought she'd got something special about her
0:38:57 > 0:38:59in terms of marketing and sales.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I don't think at that stage anyone spotted
0:39:01 > 0:39:04the business brain and the creativity behind it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:06although she was clearly a very shrewd person
0:39:06 > 0:39:10and she was very clearly a person who was driven.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13After more than 15 years working for other people,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Hilary decided it was time to go it alone,
0:39:16 > 0:39:18and Pall-Ex was born.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21But with a young son, a marriage that had gone awry
0:39:21 > 0:39:25and a new business concept to sell, it came at a cost.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29I suffered some quite hard years in the early years,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31as any new businessperson would, anyway,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34as any new business starting up.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39Um, and I lived in some quite crummy places, as well.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41One being that flaming cold
0:39:41 > 0:39:44that you used to have to tin foil the windows
0:39:44 > 0:39:49and look at me son and tin foil him, as well, because it was so cold.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55I was fighting a battle in the workplace
0:39:55 > 0:39:58to kind of grow the business. I was juggling for cash.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02And then I'd go home and I'd got difficult times with my son.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06For whatever reason, whether he was in with the wrong crowd,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and I didn't see it, I must have been blind,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13he did turn to hard drugs, class A drugs.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Heroin, crack cocaine.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17It took me a long time to find out,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20but he was my son, after all,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24and I could not kick him to the kerb and leave him in the gutter.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27And he actually says to me, "If you'd done that, Mum, I'd be dead now".
0:40:27 > 0:40:29There was no way I could do that.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33I just had to stand by... and pick up the pieces,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37um...when necessary.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40And be there.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42And, you know, pray that
0:40:42 > 0:40:45I didn't get that knock at the door every night
0:40:45 > 0:40:49to say that he'd either been arrested or was dead.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52It was a particularly hard time.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55A very hard time in my life. Not one that...
0:40:55 > 0:40:58I don't think my health would let me go through it again.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I guess the only regret I have
0:41:06 > 0:41:09is that I didn't spend as much time with my son
0:41:09 > 0:41:11as I'd liked to have done.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13I didn't really have a family life.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15All I did was work.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18I didn't have a social life. All I did was work.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32In the Den, the new Dragon has pledged to invest her own money
0:41:32 > 0:41:36in the very best business ideas.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39When Simon Booth, along with his daughter Ruby,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43asked for £75,000 for his wooden balance bike company,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47was she prepared to part with her cash?'
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Balance bikes are the perfect way
0:41:51 > 0:41:54to start children onto cycling.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Customers include John Lewis,
0:41:58 > 0:42:03who have just placed their first order, £35,000 worth.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07'I particularly loved it that he brought little Ruby on,'
0:42:07 > 0:42:09to demonstrate it. She's gorgeous.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14'I fell in love her, actually. And I thought the product was fantastic.'
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Having revealed his latest turnover of nearly £0.5 million
0:42:20 > 0:42:24made just 30 grand net profit,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26Deborah Meadon pushed Simon for an explanation.
0:42:26 > 0:42:32- What are your overheads?- OK, key overheads will be exhibitions.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Put some numbers against those. How much do you spend on exhibitions?
0:42:35 > 0:42:40- Exhibitions in the region of 45-50,000.- OK.
0:42:42 > 0:42:48- Wages and salaries?- I think 45,000. - OK. What about your rent?
0:42:48 > 0:42:50- It's about 15,000, I guess.- OK.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53At the moment, you've managed to explain 100,000.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58Deborah started really drilling down into the numbers, fair enough,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02it was quite a substantial gap in the spending,
0:43:02 > 0:43:07but by this time I had really gone completely blank.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12- I must apologise, I can't pull those figures out.- Well, you need to.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15- Do you know how important this is? - Sure.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Simon, I'm really sorry...
0:43:19 > 0:43:21I'm out.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28Quickly after Deborah had declared herself out, Peter was out,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31'and then Theo was out as well.'
0:43:31 > 0:43:35I almost thought, "How can I get out of here without anyone noticing?"
0:43:35 > 0:43:39But thankfully for Simon, there was a logistics expert
0:43:39 > 0:43:43who had yet to declare her hand.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47- Simon, you say the action are costing you £20.- Yes.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48Is that shipped?
0:43:48 > 0:43:51We have got some shipping costs in there as well.
0:43:51 > 0:43:52Straightaway, I picked up
0:43:52 > 0:43:55he'd not included the shipping costs in his figures,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58'so that gave me a glimmer of hope,'
0:43:58 > 0:44:02because I thought, "If he's shipping from England, there's a cheaper way of doing this."
0:44:02 > 0:44:06What about your distribution costs in the UK?
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Coming from our warehouse to the customer
0:44:08 > 0:44:11has to be included in the overhead as well.
0:44:11 > 0:44:18- Right. That, I think, would easily account for at least £40,000.- Yeah.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27'Hilary's discovery certainly changed the mood in the Den.'
0:44:27 > 0:44:29I quite like it, so,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33because I like the product so much, I'm going to make you an offer -
0:44:33 > 0:44:37half the money, that's £37,500, for 15%.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40I also think it's a good product, and I can see mileage in it,
0:44:40 > 0:44:48so I would like to offer you half the money for 15%.
0:44:48 > 0:44:53I don't think I'd have invested on my own, because I think it needed quite a lot of work.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57'I thought that if I was investing with Duncan,'
0:44:57 > 0:44:59then we would share the workload with it.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01What I would like to do is accept your offer.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Well done. Simon, very good move.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08I came out of there with a result.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Ruby was one of the first people that I told.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13She was like, "Yay, well done, Daddy!"
0:45:17 > 0:45:20- After his success in the Den... - Hello. Good morning.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25..Simon headed back to his offices in Somerset.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Six months later, how is the business getting on?
0:45:28 > 0:45:32Since the Den, I've taken on three extra people,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35the phone has never, ever stopped ringing.
0:45:35 > 0:45:40In fact, Simon says this year he'll turn over £1 million,
0:45:40 > 0:45:43and can already forecast £2 million in 2012.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48I just feel like we're completely bucking all the trends.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53We are at Motorcycle Live,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57which is the premium motorcycle event of the year.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05This is a consumer event, because they're the ones of the cash,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08and we're trying to capture that cash.
0:46:12 > 0:46:20In a show like this, we'd expect it to return at least 150-200,000.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24But Simon's success has come
0:46:24 > 0:46:27without the backing of his two Dragons.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30The rigorous process of due diligence that happens before
0:46:30 > 0:46:34each deal is signed had uncovered another shareholder,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36that hadn't been mentioned in the Den.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40That, quite honestly, was something that was right back
0:46:40 > 0:46:44from the early days of the business, and I'd almost forgotten about it.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49'Simon had neglected to rescind those shares.'
0:46:49 > 0:46:52Both Duncan and I decided that neither of us
0:46:52 > 0:46:56were prepared to work with a silent shareholder.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01Having not gone ahead with the deal with the Dragons,
0:47:01 > 0:47:03I'm really excited of going out on my own.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05I see that we've got massive potential,
0:47:05 > 0:47:11and I do feel that I've got the strengths to make it happen.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14'I'm sure he'll succeed, actually. He's a lovely guy
0:47:14 > 0:47:16'and he's got a lovely little daughter,'
0:47:16 > 0:47:18so I think he'll do very well.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Hilary Devey has a portfolio of six properties around the world.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32But her grandest is nestled in East Staffordshire.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36This seven-bedroom wing was built for a mere
0:47:36 > 0:47:39three-day visit from Edward VII in 1902.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Fit for a king, it has an exterior,
0:47:43 > 0:47:47and an interior that is the perfect place for a busy Dragon to unwind.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51But today she has an ulterior use for her home.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57We've got a dinner downstairs this evening in the ballroom,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59in aid of the Stroke Association.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04It's being attended by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and lots of wealthy people who are going to dig very deeply
0:48:07 > 0:48:08into their pockets.
0:48:08 > 0:48:13It will be a massive hive of activity down there currently.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26It's an exclusive guest list, with royalty, dignitaries,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28and business elite in attendance.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32All this fine wining and dining may seem worlds away from her day-job,
0:48:32 > 0:48:37but, for Hilary, everything comes back to business.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Charity is a business. Without a revenue stream, there's no charity.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Where'd you get your revenue stream?
0:48:43 > 0:48:46You're selling the concept of the charity to Joe Public,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48who's going to donate.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51That goes for any charity, anywhere in the world.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57I wouldn't get involved in a charity
0:48:57 > 0:49:00if I didn't perceive it as paramount importance,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03and I wouldn't get involved unless I could give it 100%.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08Charities that have no business acumen make my foot itch, frankly.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19I'm not very glamorous at the moment,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22but hopefully once I've donned my gladrags
0:49:22 > 0:49:26I will be a little bit more befitting as a hostess.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32She's not alone amongst the Dragons in drawing on their
0:49:32 > 0:49:35business contacts to raise money for charitable causes.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41But, for Hilary, there's another compelling reason
0:49:41 > 0:49:46why she's hosting this charity event tonight.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53Three years ago, I was trying to pack for a business trip,
0:49:53 > 0:49:54going to Turkey.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58My arm started tingling,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01and I was telling people, "I just don't feel right.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05"I just feel really, really poorly."
0:50:05 > 0:50:09And by the following morning, I'd collapsed on the bathroom floor.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12They rushed me into hospital, and I just remember
0:50:12 > 0:50:18being on this trolley, and them saying, "You've had a stroke, love.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21"You've had a stroke, duckie," is what he said.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26And I thought, "What's a stroke?" Me? A stroke?"
0:50:26 > 0:50:32I think before I say anything else, I ought to express
0:50:32 > 0:50:35on behalf of all of us here, our extreme grateful thanks to Hilary.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39This is a wonderful gesture for having this great dinner party in your home.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41So, thank you very much indeed.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45'The stroke I had was of the magnitude 9.5/10,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48'so it was quite a hefty stroke.'
0:50:48 > 0:50:55I had two massive seizures, and died twice. I had cardiac arrest twice.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01The atmosphere is good. Lots of laughter.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03I'm going to give a little speech,
0:51:03 > 0:51:07and just ask them to be generous and donate.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11I'll be obviously very discreet and surreptitious about it.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14It won't be a question of, "Have you got a pen in your hand,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16"and cheque books at the ready?"
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Well, it might, you never know.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23I think it took me three months
0:51:23 > 0:51:26to realise actually what had happened to me.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31I remember getting incredibly frustrated
0:51:31 > 0:51:35that I couldn't dial numbers, that I couldn't pick a phone up,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39that I couldn't even spell the word "the."
0:51:41 > 0:51:44You're not off the hook yet, ladies and gentlemen,
0:51:44 > 0:51:49because we are here for a very worthy cause this evening.
0:51:49 > 0:51:56Tonight, on the tables, we've left some pledge cards, and I hope
0:51:56 > 0:52:00that you'll all be very kind, and very generous in your donations.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04Thank you all so much for joining me this evening. Thank you.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I don't believe in self-pity, at all.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13I never, ever thought when I did have the stroke,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16"Why has this happened to me?"
0:52:16 > 0:52:19It could have been anybody. It could have been anybody.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24It just happened to have been me. I kind of rallied myself out of it,
0:52:24 > 0:52:28and I believe that what kind of pushed me on was tenacity,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32willpower and just saying, "I am not lying in his bed."
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Absolutely fabulous. Job well done, I think, to everybody.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43It was a really good night.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Do you think you have achieved what you set out to?
0:52:45 > 0:52:49I think we've achieved more than we set out to.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53- Do you ever rest, Hilary Devey? - Hilary Devey? Rest?
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Doesn't go, does it?
0:53:04 > 0:53:07Rest is rarely an option for any of the Dragons.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11As well as keeping on top of the day job,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15most of their investments need a little nurturing.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Yes, yes please. We love you. We'd love it.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Since becoming Hilary's first Den investment,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29she's helping Liz and Alan Colleran look for new markets
0:53:29 > 0:53:32for their memory foam sleeping bag.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36- Just try it. Seriously, just try it. - Go on, I'll tuck you in.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43The ultimate objective is that we get Virgin to commit
0:53:43 > 0:53:47to having Duvalay in their upper class cabins, on their beds.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Today, Hilary's contact book has worked hard.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56They're all pitching to someone who wouldn't look out of place in the Den.
0:53:56 > 0:54:01'We're in the upper class lounge in Jo'burg.
0:54:01 > 0:54:06'We'd like to take it a step further with a trial, and hopefully
0:54:06 > 0:54:10'looking forward to snuggling up in it sometime soon myself.'
0:54:10 > 0:54:13I hope so. That would be fab.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Next stop, the annual company party,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21and a chance to say thanks to her members
0:54:21 > 0:54:24with a typically bespoke entertainment lineup.
0:54:24 > 0:54:31One mustn't forget that I work in an industry with big, butch men,
0:54:31 > 0:54:38who are full of testosterone, and daily, with each other,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40there is an altercation.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44So it's one time of year when all those altercations are put to bed,
0:54:44 > 0:54:49and they shake each other's hands, arms around each other,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52good booze up, and we're fired up for next year.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55The 80s was a funny time, wasn't it?
0:54:55 > 0:54:58I'd be there listening to Status Quo with my ridiculous
0:54:58 > 0:55:01short underpants, what was I thinking?
0:55:01 > 0:55:03What was I thinking?
0:55:03 > 0:55:10MUSIC: "Sweet Caroline" by Status Quo
0:55:10 > 0:55:14This lot will be going till eight o'clock tomorrow morning.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16They won't go to bed tonight.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I won't be hanging about, because I'm going to Spain tomorrow,
0:55:23 > 0:55:25on business.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28I won't be joining them, revelling, but I certainly want them
0:55:28 > 0:55:30to let their hair down.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35I'd be very disappointed if they don't!
0:55:40 > 0:55:42Finally, it's off to the continent.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45If you think working out of the Costa Blanca Depot is a way
0:55:45 > 0:55:49to hide from the chief exec, you'd be wrong.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Visiting depots like this is of paramount importance
0:55:53 > 0:55:57to realise the vision of a full pan-European network.
0:55:57 > 0:56:03- Hello, Pedro. Ola.- How are you? - I'm well, are you?
0:56:03 > 0:56:06She already has three European bases,
0:56:06 > 0:56:09licensing her business model and technologies.
0:56:09 > 0:56:10Key to their success
0:56:10 > 0:56:14is an understanding of how to do business the Devey way.
0:56:14 > 0:56:20- Some of them are not arriving at the right time.- Find them.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23We will do something in a short time.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28But now is the most critical time where you lay out those disciplines.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31I did.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34I'd warn them and say, "You send your trunk in again late,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37"I'll take your freight off it, I'll hold it,
0:56:37 > 0:56:39"and I'll return your driver solo.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42"Those are the rules, you signed to play by them,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44"you've moved the goalposts, not I,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47"so now you must be punished accordingly."
0:56:53 > 0:56:58It's a business ethos that has stood her in good stead for several decades.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02She has a company worth millions, properties all over the world,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06and the option never to have to work again.
0:57:09 > 0:57:10But, to Hilary,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14success isn't judged by the same standards as most of us.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21I certainly don't measure my success by this, or by Rangemore.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24This is just concrete, and let's face it,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27it's only on loan to us while we're here, isn't it?
0:57:30 > 0:57:33I'm never ever, ever going to retire.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35I enjoy logistics, I enjoy business,
0:57:35 > 0:57:41and I've still a long way to go and there's still a vision to fulfil.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43For now, I've done OK.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51I once remember my dad saying to me, "It doesn't matter
0:57:51 > 0:57:52"if you end up collecting dustbins,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56"as long as you're happy doing it, you've succeeded in life."
0:57:56 > 0:58:00And I'm happy doing what I'm doing, no matter how much hard work it is.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk