Lord Sugar and The Apprentice winner's business deal ends after 14 years
Tom Pellereau, winner of The Apprentice in 2011, has ended his 14-year partnership with Lord Alan Sugar after buying out Sugar’s 50 per cent stake in beauty-tech brand StylPro, returning the company to full founder ownership.
The Apprentice winner Tom Pellereau has split from his business partner Lord Alan Sugar after 14 years.
Tom became Lord Sugar's first business partner after impressing him, Baroness Karren Brady, 56, and Nick Hewer, 81, on the BBC reality TV show in 2011, and the duo went on to build Tom's beauty technology company StylPro.
Lord Sugar, 78, has now confirmed that Tom has bought out his 50 per cent stake - which Lord Sugar secured after contributing £250,000 in return - in the business, taking it to a 100 per cent founder-owned company.
Lord Sugar said in a statement: "Fourteen years after investing in Tom, I have agreed with Tom’s decision to purchase back my shares and return sole ownership to him.
"When I first met Tom, he was a naïve inventor with ideas and drive, but he desperately needed my business help.
"He has gone on to build one of the UK's fastest-selling electrical beauty-tech brands. It's now the right time to part ways and allow Tom and his team to take the company to new heights.”
And Tom - whose business specialises in electrical beauty technology, such as LED face masks, and is stocked in the UK, US, Europe and Australia - appreciates the help and guidance Lord Sugar gave him during their 14-year partnership.
Tom said: "I will always be so grateful for the investment Lord Sugar made, and the potential he saw in me and my inventions.
"His time, knowledge and guidance have been invaluable. While now is the right time to regain full ownership of my business, I look back on the amazing journey we’ve taken together over the last 14 years with deep gratitude and happy memories."
Tom was Lord Sugar's first business partner, with winners before him being handed a £100,000-a-year job with Lord Sugar’s business, rather than investment into their own firms.
Tom previously admitted he and Lord Sugar have had "some ups and some downs" during their time as business partners.
In 2024, Tom told The Sun: "He has always put a lot of pressure on me to succeed. He’s been like that kind of headmaster that just gives you a hard time.
"And people sort of say, ‘You know, he does quite like you’. And you’re like, ‘Oh, he’s got a very funny way of showing it’. But we’ve had some ups and some downs."
