The Apprentice star gets £20m pay day after Lord Alan Sugar deal
A star of hit BBC One show The Apprentice has enjoyed a bumper pay day to the tune of £20m for the year after buying out Lord Alan Sugar.
Entrepreneur Susie Ma, who was a finalist on the 2011 series, took back full control of the company she founded in 2004 at the age of 15, Tropic Skincare, in 2023.
Lord Sugar received a multi-million pound pay-out through the deal which was a major return on his initial £200,000 investment.
The billionaire had he’d a 50 per cent stake in the retailer which sells skincare and cosmetics products.
Now, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed Susie Ma has paid herself a dividend of £18.2m for 2024 while a further dividend of £2m was approved at the end of April this year.
The pay-outs are up from the dividend of £11m that was approved in 2023.
Sales and profit up after Alan Sugar buy-out
The new results also show that Tropic Skincare’s turnover increased in 2024 from £62.2m to £68m while its pre-tax profit also rose from £6.7m to £8.7m.
But over the same 12-month period, the average number of people employed by the business fell from 316 to 286.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The company performed very well during the year… despite the challenges of the aftereffects of the pandemic.”
It added: “A cost saving review was carried out on some of the direct costs and gross margins saw improvements from this.
“The company continues to invest in its people, its products, its software and its manufacturing equipment.”
Tropic Skincare also said: “During the year… the board prioritise cost reduction initiatives and efficiency improvements across the business.
“In preparation for future growth and international expansion, a strengthened management team was established to support strategic delivery.”