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“Boffer” investor is named as new Dragon

Michael Feeley | Thursday March 19, 2009



Boffer.co.uk investor Shaf Rasul has been announced as one of two new Dragons who will feature in an online-only version of Dragons' Den.

The Edinburgh-based IT and property entrepreneur will join Julie Meyer to give Britain's budding men and women the chance to secure up to £50,000 of investment for their ideas.

Anyone with a must-have product or top-notch business idea can visit www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden to apply. The most innovative and entertaining ideas will be selected by the BBC to be pitched to the online Dragons. These encounters, capturing all the drama and tension that are the hallmark of the BBC Two show, will be available exclusively online as of Monday March 30 and will be updated weekly.

Dominic Byrne, newsreader from The Chris Moyles Show (BBC Radio 1) will host the online Dragon's Den, interviewing the entrepreneurs before and after they pitch, chatting to the Dragons and finding out what goes on behind the scenes when the cameras stop rolling.

Edinburgh-based Rasul, who invested in Boffer to support the owners' growth objectives, says on the Dragons' Den website that Boffer.co.uk has been his favourite and most exciting investment to date.

And he is hoping that the new show will help him identify even more talented people with bright and creative business ideas.

He said: "I have always taken an innovative approach to my business interests and it is extremely exciting to be invited to join the BBC in launching this successful show to an online audience.

"I am a firm believer that it is people who make a success of their business and I look forward to identifying opportunities to provide the funding and operational support to take a business to the next level."

Boffer sells only one product a day, which is sourced from bankrupt and excess stock, at a bargain price. The offer goes live at midnight and remains on the website till all stock is sold or until 23.59 the following evening.

Products regularly sold on the popular site - which is now the 1500th busiest in the UK and receives 30,000 hits every night - include laptops, iPods, digital cameras and LCD televisions.

Rasul added: "Consumers trends show that people are now avoiding the high street and doing their shopping online in a bid to tackle the effects of the credit crunch.

"Since its launch in September, Boffer has captured the imagination of the online consumers through its diverse product range and knock-down bargain prices.

"We offer high-street products at a fraction of the high-street price and people looking for a better deal should make Boffer their number one online shopping site."
Shaf Rasul is Scotland's richest Asian, with a personal fortune estimated in excess of £100million. Rasul was last year named the 27th richest Asian in the UK and was also included in the Asia Power 100, a list of the most influential and successful members of the British Asian community.

Rasul established his optical-media distribution, E-Net Computers Limited, in 2000 and it is now the largest storage media distributor in Europe and one of the biggest buyers of optical storage products in the world.

As well as expanding E-Net Computers, Rasul has developed a venture capital investment portfolio, worth in the region of £30million, which focuses on property, asset management and internet technology. Recent capital ventures include internet retailer Boffer.co.uk which sells only one product a day at a bargain price.

Rasul also has an arm dedicated to management buy-ins and buyouts, providing teams with the funding, buying power and exposure to the supply and distribution networks required to expand their business.

www.boffer.co.uk

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