Outsourcery CEO Piers Linney to join Dragons' Den

Channel man wants to invest in 'information economy entrepreneurs'

Outsourcery chief executive Piers Linney is to take his place in the Dragons' Den, replacing Theo Paphitis, who announced his departure last month.

Linney (pictured) will star in the upcoming 11th series of the show, alongside long-serving Dragons Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne and Deborah Meaden, as well as fellow newcomer interior designer Kelly Hoppen, who was earlier unveiled as the replacement for Hilary Devey. Linney becomes the channel's second representative on the programme, with technology investor Jones being a major shareholder in online VAR Expansys.

Linney has helmed the Manchester-based cloud computing firm since March 2007, when he and co-chief executive Simon Newton led a management buyout from previous owner Dixons. Prior to this he worked in the City in corporate finance and venture capitalism for a number of years, and also started an online research business.

The Outsourcery boss is clearly not camera shy, having previously appeared on Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire in 2011. The entrepreneur has also featured on The Power List rundown of the 100 most influential black Britons. In 2008 he was named as a role model as part of the government's Reach initiative designed to encourage higher academic and career achievement among young black men and women.

He said: "I am excited to have the opportunity to join Dragons' Den and once again support entrepreneurs both financially and through my extensive network. I also think I can widen the appeal of the Den to information economy entrepreneurs, as they are key to the future success of the UK economy."