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Wales Online
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Jamie Roberts & Sam Cook

BBC Apprentice star sells business he set up with Lord Sugar for eye-watering sum

BBC The Apprentice winner Mark Wright has sold off the business he set up with Alan Sugar for £10m. The 32-year-old won the 2014 series and, subsequently, became one of Lord Sugar's business partners.

Seven years ago, the duo founded digital marketing agency Climb Online and went on to have a team of 130 staff. The firm worked with huge names in the business world, including Emirates and TikTok, and was sold to agency x DNA.

The Mirror reports how Lord Sugar, himself, praised Mark, who he said came over to the UK from Australia with "no money" and can now return with millions in the bank. Of his former partner, he said: "A young boy comes from Australia, skint, totally skint.

Read more: Claude Littner to return for two episodes of The Apprentice after recovering

"He sees an advert on BBC to enter into The Apprentice programme. He then goes on and wins it. And he wins a partnership with me of £250,000," he added whilst chatting to The Sun, "And from acorns, big oak trees have grown. And this young lad who came with no money is now going back to Australia with millions."

The Apprentice winner, meanwhile, described how the show hugely helped get his foot in the door with some big players in the business world. He revealed how prior to the show he was getting turned away by small shops, but his involvement in the TV series opened up the opportunity to speak to top business boards.

Mark said: "Before I went on the show, if I rang up a carpet shop in South London they wouldn't give me the time of day. As soon as I won that programme I could get a meeting in the boardroom at Emirates. That brand was incredibly powerful." For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.

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