Denise meets the Dragons!
In January 2007 Razzamataz Theatre Schools founder and principal Denise Hutton took part in BBC TV's Dragons Den.
Denise was invited on to meet the Dragons with four children, one of whom had written and produced our very own "Razzamataz Jingle", Miss Myrren Porter (the grand old age of 8!), from Paisley. The Razzamataz Jingle was performed for the "Dragons", and Denise launched into her 2 min "pitch" (very nervously!), to persuade the dragons to invest in the franchise business of Razzamataz.
Denise founded Razzamataz Theatre Schools in Cumbria in 2000, opening in several locations in the North of England and Scotland and decided to franchise the business at the end of 2005, due to the huge demand - and only one of her!
In 2006, Razzamataz Glasgow, Edinburgh and Penrith were launched, with Derby launching February 2007, Stirling in May 2007 closely followed by London in September 2007!
This is Denise's account of the encounter, "After what felt like an eternity in the Den (about 25 mins!), most of the Dragons declared themselves 'out', until a very quiet Duncan Bannantyne decided that Razzamataz was 'under selling' itself and he offered the full investment - if I still wanted it! - of course I jumped at this once in a lifetime opportunity and we shook hands on the deal!"
Denise went onto add, "Duncan met myself and the kids after filming and was very nice (and human!), warm and friendly to us all. It was a fantastic experience for the kids and we are all so pleased at the outcome!"
The Razzamataz kids are going to hugely benefit from this, as it will raise the profile of the business, which means more producers, casting directors and agents will be contacting Razzamataz for opportunities for the kids - the future for Razzamataz kids looks bright!
