Apprentice winner Dean Franklin ‘not aware’ of licence breach

The 2025 apprentice winner said that “he was not aware of the investigation” after he reports that his air conditioning had been operating without the correct license.

Dean Franklin, 35, of Horchurch, East London, was crowned as the last winner of the BBC reality show on April 17 by Lord Alan Sugar.

The SUN newspaper reported that it was in “the center of a rogue merchant investigation” for not providing an F-Gas certificate for its business for 17 months, which is required by the Environment Agency.

Franklin told the BBC Essex: “I’m not aware of any information research. I am registered and I have been since 2014.”

“I would always believe what you read in the newspapers,” he added.

F Fluorated Greenhouse Gases, are regulated by the Environment Agency and companies or people who work with the issue must be qualified to do so.

The coverage in the national media said that Mr. Franklin’s signature, ADL, could be responsible for a fine of £ 200,000 if a violation of the regulations was.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We are clear that it is illegal to work with F-Gas without correct qualifications and certification.

“We are investigating reports of a possible violation of these regulations.”

Franklin gave his response to the accusations while participating in the eyes of Beind-The-Scenes of the BBC Essex.