A lucrative source of income had appeared to be on the horizon, with SBC widely reported in the UK press to be in the process of buying the contacts and network of the Pitch@Palace project.
In February SBC announced its plans: “International investment group set to take over former Pitch@Palace global network.”
Pitch@Palace had been a Dragon’s Den-style pitching competition for new business ideas, set up Prince Andrew in 2014 and run by him before he stepped down from royal duties in 2019.
SBC had said it was attracted by Pitch@Palace’s legacy of contacts, with 80,000 applications from 3,000 entrepreneurial companies in more than 60 countries.
The Dutch firm, which has been running since 2010, helps to mentor and grow start-up businesses, particularly in the technology sector, with investments in 1,700 early-stage companies and running schemes in 27 countries.
A takeover of the Pitch@Palace network had seemed imminent with SBC saying the partnership would be a “fantastic opportunity” and that it wanted to make use of a “great, but dormant” network of entrepreneurs. Jointly branded events had already been held.
But sources close to SBC now say that despite a meeting at Buckingham Palace and a positive sounding press release about seeing “immense value in the network”, nothing was concluded.
No deal with Prince Andrew was ever signed or closed, and no transactions were made, whether in Europe, the Middle East or China, according to SBC’s side of negotiations. Prince Andrew has been approached for comment.