MILLIONAIRE Hilary Devey is staying tight-lipped over online rumours she is lining up a bid to buy Bolton Wanderers.
Speculation was rife among Wanderers fans on Twitter and on supporters’ websites that the Bolton-born former Dragons’ Den star was looking to buy the Macron Stadium club.
This was after the club slumped to the bottom of the Championship following a 2-1 home defeat to 10-man Bournemouth on Saturday, the day after manager Dougie Freedman left by mutual consent.
Ms Devey told her followers on Twitter that she was "considering" buying Wanderers, but it is not clear how serious she was.
A spokesman for 57-year-old Ms Devey’s London office said yesterday: “I can neither confirm nor deny that she is interested in buying the club.
“We are aware of the speculation and she will probably make an announcement on Twitter, but it will not be this week.
"She is involved in a very intensive period of filming for TV at the moment and cannot comment any further.”
The entrepreneur, worth an estimated £50 million, is best known for her two-year stint on BBC2 programme Dragons’ Den until she left to present the five-part Channel 4 series The Intern.
She grew in Bolton, witnessing the bankruptcy of her father, who had owned a central heating company, when bailiffs removed furniture and household goods from the family home.
Ms Devey left Bolton School aged 16 and served in the Royal Air Force, before moving to London and making her fortune launching Pall-Ex, a palletised freight network.
@HilaryDevey have you ever thought of buying bwfc and making the team go in the right direction? We need a womans touch at bolton 👍
— danny t (@DannyT_Bwfc) October 4, 2014
@DannyT_Bwfc yes considering it. !!!!!xoxo
— Hilary Devey CBE (@HilaryDevey) October 4, 2014
@1darrenbutler I would love to take my team to the top again. Xoxo
— Hilary Devey CBE (@HilaryDevey) October 4, 2014
She featured in Secret Millionaire in 2008, donating more than £70,000 to the Back Door Music Project and Syke Community Centre in Rochdale and, in 2010, was the presenter of The Business Inspector for Channel 5.
She joined Dragons’ Den in 2011 following the departure of James Caan, popularising her expression “you would make my foot itch” which indicates dissatisfaction or lack of interest in a venture.
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