The Apprentice: Lord Sugar cuts ties with winner Sian Gabbidon

Lord Alan Sugar has ‘parted ways’ with previous Apprentice winner Sian Gabbidon, just weeks after Harpreet Kaur was crowned the champion of the latest series.

Sian went into business with the mogul in 2018 after securing his investment for her bespoke swimwear company on the BBC show.

However, Lord Sugar has since ceased to be a director in the venture. 

According to Companies House, his role within the company was ‘terminated’ last month and his investment company, Amvest Limited, has also been removed.

Lord Sugar had invested the usual £250,000 into Sian Marie Fashion, but documents obtained from Companies House have shown that he stepped down in recent weeks.

In 2019, Sian admitted that she found The Apprentice process more than a little frightening.

‘It’s really terrifying,’ she told Metro.co.uk, before considering what exactly it is that candidates need to succeed in the boardroom.

‘I think you need a little bit of everything,’ she explained. ‘I think you have to kind of play it safe to begin with a little bit, you have to listen to people and work as a team, but towards the end you kind use your own initiative and be a bit more outspoken.

‘But my big positive was that I kept quite cool and calm throughout and I think that probably got me as far as I did because I had the respect of my team members – I was never carrying on or shouting or screaming.’

Sian is not the only star to split from the entrepreneur, with 2015 winner Joseph Valente, 2016 winner Alana Spencer, and 2017 winner James White also parting ways.

Lord Sugar’s latest business partner Harpreet owns Oh So Yum! – a dessert parlour and sweet treat delivery service – with her older sister Gurvinder. The company has two locations, in Leeds and Huddersfield.

Speaking about the challenge of having to convince Lord Sugar that her sister’s involvement would not affect the potential investment and partnership on offer, she said: ‘Me and my sister have built this business to the state that it’s already at and we both add that value.

‘But going through The Apprentice process, it was just me and me alone. So I felt that I managed to prove to Lord Sugar that I’ve got enough standing regardless and can make a success out of anything, even if I’m stood on my own.

‘So actually, I felt that it was only a benefit that I have actually got someone else on board within the company that is gonna help supercharge that growth. But I felt that through the process, he could see that I am investable as a person, even just by myself, so I didn’t see it as a risk.’

The Apprentice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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