Drew Cockton, 36, died peacefully at home yesterday according to his mother
A Dragon’s Den entrepreneur who secured a £50,000 investment for his scented candle business has died ‘peacefully at home’ at the age of 36.
Drew Cockton, who had quit his high-pressured corporate job to focus on his candle-making enterprise, impressed the Dragons with his honesty about his mental health battles when he appeared on the BBC1 show last year.
The success of his vegan fragrance brand Owen Drew soared after he received a £50,000 investment from Toulker Suleyman, even securing the endorsement of socialite Paris Hilton and reality star Gemma Collins.
But his mother said that she is ‘truly, utterly heartbroken’ to announce that her ‘gorgeous boy’ died peacefully at home yesterday.
In a post on Facebook Kate Drew wrote: ‘We are devastated beyond belief. Life is never, ever going to be the same again. Rest Peacefully darling boy.’
Tributes have flooded in, with friends and relatives describing Mr Cockton as a ‘kind and caring person’ with a ‘heart of pure gold’.
The 36-year-old, from Wirral, Merseyside, founded vegan fragrance brand Owen Drew in 2017 after quitting his high-pressured corporate job to turn his candle-making hobby into an enterprise.
He claimed to have created the world’s most expensive candle, designed to celebrate Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, after details of the bride’s floral arrangements and bouquet were released. Set in 24 carat gold vessels, they retail at £750 and contain some of the most expensive oils and perfumes on earth.
Mr Cockton pitched to the Dragons on the BBC show last year and impressed them with how candid he was about his bipolar disorder- so much so that retail mogul Touker Suleyman agreed to invest £50,000 in the venture in exchange for a 30 per cent stake.