The Apprentice crowns winner
'The Apprentice' has announced the winner of Lord Alan Sugar's £250,000 investment.
Dean Franklin has won 'The Apprentice'.
The air-conditioning business owner went head-to-head with Anisa Khan for the final task on Thursday (17.04.25), with him ultimately bagging a £250,000 investment from his new business partner Lord Alan Sugar afterwinning over the tycoon and industry experts with his final pitch, for which the finalists were helped by their fired former competitions.
Dean said on winning: "I can’t believe I’ve just won The Apprentice. This is going to mean the world to me and my family. My kids are going to be over the moon.”
In the final boardroom, Baroness Karren Brady championed Dean.
She said: “I like Dean. I think the issue for him is he doesn’t know how to scale up. This is where he needs you. He’s lacking that bit of confidence on if the decisions he’s making are the right decisions. And I think you’ll give him that push that you need...
“I think the difference between the two candidates is this: Dean’s got a business. You’re investing in that business and helping him scale up. Anisa, yes she has a business. It’s tiny but you’re really investing in her.”
Meanwhile, Tim Campbell praised Anisa as a "wonderful" candidate but questioned if her venture was "big enough" for Lord Sugar.
He said: “Anisa is a wonderful candidate. She’s bright, really articulate and really clear about what she wants to create. The challenge is always going to be, is it big enough for you?
Ultimately, after "deep consideration", the Amstrad boss made his decision.
He told the finalists: “This is the way I see it. Dean, through the process you’ve been quite good. There've been a few rocky moments where you remained in it by the skin of your teeth, but do I have the confidence in the residential market? As opposed to food where everyone’s got to eat, and a £10, £12 pizza is affordable to most people. That’s where I am at the moment.
“Given it deep consideration. I’m going to say that, Dean you’re going to be my business partner.”
