Bankruptcy fear haunted tragic hair care tycoon
THE entrepreneur behind the GHD hair-straightener empire killed himself fearing bankruptcy and gripped by depression, an inquest heard.
Martin Penny, 63, was once worth £80million because of the success of the firm which brought home hair styling to a generation of teenagers and young women.
But his finances and mental health deteriorated and he became suicidal after being prescribed anti-depressants, the hearing was told. The father of two was discovered by his wife Diana hanging in the master bedroom of their four-bed home in June last year.
She told the coroner she was very concerned about the impact of the mood-altering drugs he was taking and she had not been ‘adequately prepared’ for their effects.
Despite his success in business, Mr Penny had always struggled with anxiety. His sister Barbara told the 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.’
Mr Penny founded GHD (Good Hair Day) in 2001 with two friends, Robert Powls and Gary Douglas, in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
Hairdresser Mr Powls had come across ceramic hair-straightening irons on a business trip to the US and the trio bought the rights from the South Korean inventor.
The company became a worldwide success, and counted Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow among its celebrity endorsers.
Over the years Mr Penny bought his partners out before being forced out himself by new private equity investors in 2008.
By that time he was said to be worth around £80million. He was reportedly still worth tens of millions when his other company – environment consultancy OHS – went into administration in 2017.
However, his finances may have been in a far worse state as he confessed to worrying about going bankrupt, the inquest was told.
He was prescribed anti-depressants by a GP, although he only took two because he was concerned about their effects. His condition deteriorated and in March 2018 he was admitted to hospital after becoming ‘manic’.
Dr John Nehaul, the consultant psychiatrist treating Mr Penny, said he scored 21 out of 21 on an anxiety scale. He added: ‘He was very worried he was going to go bankrupt because there were problems with a property he had bought.’
After hospital treatment, Mr Penny seemed a ‘changed man’. But his appearance masked an inner turmoil. Mrs Penny said her husband told her he had tried to hang and drown himself. The next day she found him dead at their luxury farmhouse in Denton.
She told the inquest she was worried about his medication, adding: ‘I felt I was not adequately prepared for the effect of these drugs. I was not counselled what to look for and how to react.’
Harrogate coroner Rob Turnbull recorded a verdict of suicide.
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