A SPOKESMAN for North-East businessman Duncan Bannatyne said the Dragon’s Den star has had to “consolidate” his business following his divorce.

On Wednesday, the Darlington-based entrepreneur used his Twitter feed to confirm that his divorce from ex-wife Joanne McCue had been finalised.

A spokesman for Mr Bannatyne said: “A handful of redundancies were confined to the new projects team, as Duncan consolidates the business in line with the cost of the divorce and market conditions.

“However, investment continues in order to grow established business streams and key performance areas, including the call centre operation in Darlington.”

Ms McCue, who married 63-year-old Mr Bannatyne in 2006, could not be contacted for comment.