Millionaire businessman behind Ghd hair straighteners Martin Penny was found hanged in his bedroom b
An entrepreneur who created the popular ghd hair straighteners killed himself after suffering acute anxiety and had feared he would go bankrupt, an inquest heard.
Father-of-two Martin Penny, 63, who was worth £80m after his ghd products took the world by storm, hanged himself in the master bedroom of his £2.7million home in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
His family told the hearing of their concerns about how he has money worries and suffered from insomnia and anxiety. They said his condition deteriorated after he was prescribed a number of different drugs.
Sister Barbara Penny told the Harrogate inquest: 'He had anxiety all his life. He had never talked about suicide ever until he took those drugs. I have never seen him in that state ever.'
Father-of-two Martin Penny, 63, who was worth £80m after his ghd products took the world by storm, hanged himself in the master bedroom of his home
Mr Penny's wife Diana found him dead in the master bedroom of their home on June 18, last year. The couple had two son's Alex and James.
He founded the ghd business with two friends Gary Douglas and Robert Powls, a former Keighley hairdresser, in 2001 after already creating Bradford-based environmental consultancy firm OHS.
Mr Powls came across the ceramic hair straightening irons on a business trip to America and, having renamed them ghd (Good Hair Day), the trio started the business from Mr Powls's Ilkley home and took the UK hairdressing industry by storm.
Ghd moved to offices in Silsden and grew quickly into a worldwide sensation, boasting Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow among those who used its products. In 2008 Mr Penny was said to be worth £80 million.
Mr Penny's wife Diana (pictured) found him dead in the master bedroom of their home on June 18, last year
Via Daily Mail