Dragon Hilary Devey founded Pall-Ex, a freight-distribution network.
Pall-Ex was established in the United Kingdom in 1996. It developed a palletised-freight network, allowing individual freight loads to be collected, consolidated and distributed through a network of regional transport operators. This approach helped smaller consignments move efficiently without requiring one vehicle to carry a complete shipment from origin to destination.
Hilary Devey became closely associated with logistics before joining Dragon's Den. She appeared on the programme as an investor in the early 2010s, bringing specialist knowledge of transport, distribution and business-to-business services.
Pall-Ex is sometimes confused with DHL, a global logistics company, or Palletways, another pallet-distribution network. Those are separate organisations. Devey's connection with Pall-Ex is one of the clearest examples of a Dragon investing from direct experience in a particular industry.