A CHILDREN’S language company based in the North-East has had a bid for investment rejected by the business moguls on Dragon’s Den.

Lingotot, the County Durham-based firm, which was established in 2010, was featured on the television programme on Sunday evening.

Angela Sterling, who now teaches more than 10,000 children each week through her growing network of franchisees, appeared on the show in search of support to fuel her ambitious expansion plans.

A team of her students sang to the ‘Dragons’ in four different languages, but the mother-of-two walked away without the £50,000 investment she had initially asked for.

She said: “Dragons’ Den is an experience I will never forget. It was terrifying yet hugely worthwhile and offers so much more than TV entertainment.”

Ms Sterling, from Consett, who spent more than a decade working as a modern foreign languages teacher before setting up Lingotot, is looking to expand the languages business and was hoping to bring one of the Dragons on board to support her with her plans.

But they did not share her optimism for international expansion and instead encouraged the entrepreneur to continue to grow her successful UK franchise model.

They recommended that she enlist the support of a close mentor as opposed to seeking any sort of financial help.

After shedding a few tears in front of the camera, Ms Sterling left the den armed with their advice and feeling upbeat and optimistic.

Despite warnings to the contrary, the businesswoman has gone ahead with her international expansion, last month launching Lingotot Dubai, a dedicated middle-east operation which has an office in Dubai and has already attracted the interest of some of the largest independent school chains in the UAE.

Ms Sterling said: “I knew the business could be even bigger and better but didn’t feel fully equipped to take it to the next level on my own.

“I’ve listened to their advice and have since found the right support to take the business to the next level. In some ways I have gone against their advice when it comes to international expansion plans, but the Dragons certainly helped me to establish a much clearer picture of the opportunities and threats of operating Lingotot overseas.

“I know that foreign lands are not necessarily paved with gold and the figures that I quoted were not realistic but I can certainly see real opportunities for the business to flourish and I am pursuing a number of different options.”