Dragon's Den investor John Caudwell co-founded the mobile-phone retailer Phones 4u.
Caudwell started the business with his brother Brian Caudwell in the late 1980s. It grew from a Staffordshire-based mobile-phone operation into one of the United Kingdom's largest independent retailers of mobile phones and contracts.
The chain operated hundreds of stores and also sold phones online. Its business model depended heavily on agreements with mobile-network operators, which supplied the contracts and services connected to the handsets.
Phones 4u entered administration in September 2014 after major network partners withdrew from its stores. This ended the high-street chain, although the brand's history remains closely associated with John Caudwell's telecommunications fortune. Phones 4u should not be confused with Carphone Warehouse, a separate retailer founded by David Ross, Charles Dunstone and Guy Johnson.