{"id":319706,"date":"2026-02-27T07:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T07:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/319706\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T07:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T07:38:10","slug":"dragons-den-star-shaf-rasul-dies-aged-55-as-tributes-pour-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/319706\/","title":{"rendered":"Dragons’ Den star Shaf Rasul dies aged 55 as tributes pour in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Businessman Shaf Rasul has died at the age of 55, his family has confirmed. He appeared on the BBC Dragons’ Den Online series in 2009<\/p>\n

20:06, 26 Feb 2026Updated 20:06, 26 Feb 2026<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

(Image: Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser)<\/p>\n

A former Dragons’ Den star has passed away aged 55. Entrepreneur Shaf Rasul is believed to have died at his home following a sudden illness.<\/p>\n

He had featured on the BBC online spin-off of Dragons’ Den following its 2009 debut. His relatives issued a heartfelt statement after his passing, which said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Shafqat Rasul.<\/p>\n

“A devoted father to Sohaib and Sarah Rasul, a loving husband to Nabila Rasul, a cherished son of the late Haji Ghulam Rasul and Parveen Akhtar, and a dear brother to Zahid, Shahid, Ashfaq, Ml Abid and Juwariah.”<\/p>\n

The message from his family went on: “We humbly request your duas for the deceased and strength and patience for the family during this difficult time.”<\/p>\n

Shaf appeared in Dragons’ Den: Online. The dedicated web-based variant of the programme maintained the identical structure as its television counterpart, reports the Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Shaf<\/p>\n

Shaf Rasul on Dragons Den<\/p>\n

It was hosted by Dominic Byrne and showcased Shaf Rasul and Julie Meyer as the Dragons. The weekly instalments featuring the entrepreneur ran from 16 September 2009 to 7 October 2009.<\/p>\n

He launched his commercial ventures in the early 1990s and subsequently became a self-made multi-millionaire following the creation of E-Net Computers.<\/p>\n

Twelve months prior to his Dragons’ Den appearance, Shaf secured a position among the top 20 in the UK Asian Rich List. Among those honouring the businessman after his passing was Chris Gilmour.<\/p>\n

The co-founder of PR firm Tigerbond told the Sun: “Shaf was a client for nearly 25 years and didn’t change a bit. He was always full of the same boundless enthusiasm for life and business..<\/p>\n

“There are so many people out there whose lives were touched by his kindness and he was always happy to dispense advice to budding entrepreneurs.”<\/p>\n

He continued: “I still remember one of the first times I met him and he welcomed a colleague and me into his office \u2013 and introduced us to a tank of piranhas!”.<\/p>\n

Other social media users shared their own tributes<\/a>. A former schoolmate posted: “I’m shocked to hear this. I was at school with Shaf, such a smart, funny guy.”<\/p>\n

And another online commenter stated: “Our friend Shaf has moved on to what I hope is a better place. I shall never forget your infectious and beautiful approach to life.<\/p>\n

“Your positivity, your embrace, your massive smile and your warm handshake. You always asked ‘of other people’ \u2013 never concerned about yourself.<\/p>\n

“Now we are thinking of you and your astonishing achievements. Most of all, we are thinking of how you made us all feel \u2013 and that will be what I will always remember.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Businessman Shaf Rasul has died at the age of 55, his family has confirmed. He appeared on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[106762,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-319706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dragons-den","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}