WORCESTER entrepreneurs Neil and Laura Westwood have bought back control of their million pound Magic Whiteboard company from the two business “Dragons” who helped drive its success.
Mr Westwood was a trainer for the NHS when he and his wife took their idea for a whiteboard on a roll to the Dragons’ Den television show in 2006 looking for financial backing.
“The deal was done in two weeks and the money exchanged hands,” said Mr Westwood. “I will always remember sending over £300,000 (having checked the sort code 10 times to make sure it was correct) to both Theo and Deborah from the Lloyds Bank desk in Worcester, just like I was paying a gas bill. Share certificates were posted back to us and that was that. I was surprised how easy it was. Ryman will continue to stock our full range of Magic Whiteboard products and we now get to keep 100 per cent of the profits, which is a great incentive to work hard. Dragons’ Den was a very positive experience. Theo and Deborah provided a stepping-stone to help me quit my job in the NHS. This created new opportunities for me and my family that did not exist before hand”
The Westwoods have introduced new products such as the reusable Magic Notebook and the Magic Blackout Blind and are targeting new markets in France, Spain and German. Magic Whiteboard has also recently been taken up by 142 Tesco’s and continues to sell strongly online with Amazon.
Worcester News