£1,000-a-day for my ex-wife? I'll have to sack 43 of my staff to pay for it, says TV Dragon

Dragons' Den star Duncan Bannatyne is embroiled in a divorce battle which has seen him warn his estranged wife he will have to lay off staff due to her financial demands.

The 62-year-old and Joanne McCue are to divorce after nearly five years of marriage in a move which will see him lose a considerable chunk of his financial empire, the Mail has learned.

Miss McCue is insisting she be given an allowance of more than £1,000 a day in addition to payments for their children, house and holiday home in France, it is claimed.

Divorce battle: Joanne McCue and Bannatyne in 2008

But Bannatyne, whose financial empire includes health clubs, hotels, bars and property, has apparently said the demands would force him to sack 43 people.

Last night, it was not clear how the extra expenditure would necessarily lead to such drastic down-sizing.

A family friend told the Daily Mail: 'Duncan's wealth is bound up in the value of his companies and he gives much of his earnings to charity.

'His wife wants an allowance of more than £1,000 per day.

'He already pays for the children, plus their house and their holiday home in France.

'Duncan thinks it is unfair that the futures of his dedicated staff should be threatened by her demands and feels that they should both be more prudent in the economic climate.'

Dragons: Bannatyne, left, Hilary Devey, Theo Paphitis, Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones

Bannatyne is worth £430million, according to The Sunday Times Rich List. However, he is believed to claim his wealth is not as much as that.

Miss McCue, 45, is Bannatyne's second wife. They have two children; ten-year-old Emily and Tom, eight.

It is not known if they signed a pre-nuptial agreement.

The multi-millionaire entrepreneur has left their home in the North East following their break-up and is staying at a London apartment.

Last night Miss McCue was still believed to be at the five-bedroomed family home in the gated Wynard Estate in Billingham, County Durham, where former residents include football icons Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.

Bannatyne bought the house for £750,000 in September 2004.

The couple also have a holiday villa near Cannes in the south of France.

Happier times: Duncan Bannatyne, 62, with his now estranged wife who is demanding £1,000 a day in their divorce battle

Another source told the Daily Mail: 'Duncan has been really upset by the break-up and has taken it quite badly.

'The thing is that his wife thinks he is much richer than he is after looking at the Sunday Times Rich List.

'In reality, he is worth nowhere near her astronomical figure. Duncan's told the other Dragons about the problem and one of them even joked that he might have no money left to invest.'

Miss McCue and Bannatyne – who also has four children with his first wife, Gail – met when she was director of nursing at his Quality Care Homes business in the mid-1990s.

The couple married in November 2006 in Billingham after he proposed to her on holiday in Barbados.

But in July, Bannatyne – who is a fervent user of  Twitter and has 407,000 followers – shocked fans online by claiming he was considering taking his life as his second marriage came under strain.

He said: 'My day could not have been worse. Suicide is a considered option.' The comments were later removed.

One friend at the time said: 'They still consider themselves a married couple and are trying to sort things out.

'There is no third party. This is not about another woman.

'The problems are just those that can arise between any married couple.'

Bannatyne has said of the collapse of his first marriage: 'In the run-up to the separation, I was very unhappy.

'I'd get in the car, drive to work, stop in a lay-by and start crying.

'I came very close to considering suicide. I knew life just wasn't right.'

Bannatyne, who was born in Clydebank, Scotland, served in the Royal Navy for 12 years before deciding to strike out on his own. He has become a celebrity after the success of BBC2 entrepreneur show Dragons' Den, in which people pitch for investment from the Dragons.

Last night Bannatyne told the Mail: 'On the advice of our lawyers, we are making no comment.'

Miss McCue also said she had no comment to make.