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Blackpool businesses call for TV tycoon to be "fired"
A BLACKPOOL entrepreneur found Sugar wasn't so sweet when he questioned TV's tyrant tycoon.
Alber Goldberg, who runs GloMania in North Shore, asked Lord Alan Sugar – the Government champion for small businesses – for some advice.
But he was stunned when the business tsar launched into an eight-minute rant dismissing some bosses of small businesses as "moaners".
Mr Goldberg, whose company designs and makes ceilings, told The Gazette he had asked what could be done to encourage banks to lend to smaller enterprises at a Business Link event in Manchester.
But the multi-millionaire, well known for dishing out tongue lashings to contestants on TV show The Apprentice, replied: "A lot of problems you hear from people who are moaning are from companies I wouldn't lend a penny to.
"The moaners are bust. They are bust and they don't need the bank – they need an insolvency practitioner."
The boiling businessman also accused many company owners of "living in Disneyland". Lord Sugar has since said his comments were taken "out of context".
Mr Goldberg, who told Lord Sugar four banks had refused to lend him money to develop a new product, said it felt like the multi-millionaire was out of touch.
He said: "He was speaking at an event for small and medium enterprises and was talking about buying 200,000 equipment and owing 100,000.
"Those are not the sort of figures small business deal with.
"We're talking about people who work hard and have to make sure they have enough money to be able to look after their families, pay the rates, pay the mortgage and run a business.
"The banks have become more restrictive but I'm sure if you have hundreds of millions of pounds in the bank they'd be happy to lend you money.
"I was not enamoured by his comments and they didn't fit with the concept of the meeting.
"One delegate said he was left quite depressed by it, but I'm actually quite surprised by the reaction and the stir it's all caused."
Now, the Blackpool-based Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for Lord Sugar to be "fired" – as he has done to so many others in the hit programme.
FSB chairman Steve Pye said: "He appears to have let his TV personality from The Apprentice take over and the language he has used to describe small business owners was hardly appropriate."
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Monday 13 February 2012
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