James Caan

James Caan is one of the UK’s most successful and dynamic entrepreneurs.  He made his fortune in the recruitment industry, which included the global success of his companies, Alexander Mann Group and Humana International, and he has been building and selling businesses ever since.  In 2004 he founded private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw based in London’s Mayfair.  The company specialises in buyouts, venture capital, real estate and now manages a portfolio of over 30 companies.

James is best known for joining the panel of the hit TV show on BBC, Dragons’ Den, where he invested in 14 companies and committed over £1m of investment, over 4 series.

In 2011 James launched a property venture, HB Real Estate, to target investments in prime London residential and commercial real estate assets.  The new division has raised a £100m fund and has recently made its first acquisition, a residential asset in prime Knightsbridge with an estimated GDV in excess of £30m.

James has received various prestigious awards including ‘BT Enterprise of the Year’, PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ and Entrepreneur of the Year in the Asian Jewel Awards.

James supports a variety of government initiatives including The Entrepreneur’s Forum; James was selected to join a panel of high profile business people who meet regularly to debate their views on enterprise policy.

In May 2012 he was appointed Chairman of StartUp Loans, a government initiative to support young people with funding to start up new businesses in the UK.  Over £82 million of loans will be offered to 18-24 year olds over the next 3 years.
James is heavily involved with charity and set up The James Caan Foundation in 2011 to help underprivileged children get access to education.

James has written three bestselling books, The Real Deal, his autobiography, Get the Job You Really Want, based on his 30 years of experience in the recruitment industry (Get the Job reached No. 1 in 3 categories on Amazon and was the best-selling practical business book of 2011).  In his latest book, Start Your Business in 7 Days, James uses his experience to help the new generation of entrepreneurs to work out if their business ideas are workable and bankable.  Start Your Business reached No. 2 in the Amazon business chart within two weeks of launching.

James is extremely passionate about supporting small businesses and recently launched a free app, James Caan Business Secrets to help other entrepreneurs on their journey to success.  The app was the fastest downloaded business app of 2011 and is regularly ranked in the Top 100 apps ever in Apps Magazine.

In October 2012 James was approached by CNBC to host The Business Class.  The Business Class is a seven-part series where James is joined by experts from a cross section of industries, looking at the challenges and opportunities faced by 6 businesses. They discuss the key issues facing today’s SMEs, the resources available to them and what is needed to become successful.  Each 30 minute episode features an innovative business which is seeking guidance to help it grow in today’s market place.