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Michael Sophocles is fired from The Apprentice |
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Written by Telly Addict
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 |
Michael Sophocles has become the latest candidate to be fired from The Apprentice by Sir Alan Sugar
With only six candidates left in the race to become Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentice for 2008, this week Sir Alan meets the candidates at a breaker's yard in Wembley where he tells them, "This week's task is all about cars. You are going to find customers to rent these very special cars to. We have a fantastic array of some of the most prestigious cars in the world. The team that makes the most amount of money from rental will win; the team that doesn't will lose - and from that losing team, one person will get fired".
This week Michael was given his chance that he asked Sir Alan for, another chance to lead Renaissance, with his team completed by Helene and Claire. Lee McQueen is made leader of Alpha with his team completed by Lucinda and Alex.
Lee is in his element, but for Michael it is to be an ordeal as he confesses that he hates cars.
But Michael must put a brave face on it as he and Lee step forward to choose which two of the cars on offer represent the best business prospect, tempting potential customers to rent them out for an hour or a day.
The cars values and rental values vary. Both teams choose a car at the lower end of this exclusive high value fleet - for Renaissance, it's a Ferrari, and for Alpha, an Aston Martin; both are normally hired for around £67 per hour or £600 a day.
For their second car, Renaissance choose a Spiker Spyder, which has a rental cost of £275 per hour or £1200 per day. For Alpha, Lee takes a gamble and chooses the most expensive car available. The coveted Pagani Zonda cannot be rented out by the hour, so if they are to make money on it, they must close rental deals on it at a breathtaking £2750 per day.
Both teams have to find out for themselves where to rent the cars during the day. Then, at 4pm, Sir Alan Sugar has arranged for two marquees to be erected in the wealthy Canary Wharf district, and they will continue to sell their car rental offers at these pitches until nightfall.
Claire and Helene decide to focus on Spitalfields Market and soon Claire is doing deals for driving time in the Spiker Spyer. Michael, their team leader, opts to go to Knightsbridge but has no luck in the quiet spot he has chosen. He then heads to Portobello market but again no one wants to rent his Ferrari.
Lee, Alex and Lucinda head for the stock exchange and the City of London. Lucinda pops off to have raffle tickets printed up to promote the Zonda, but in the end, she is wasting time on a marketing tool that is never used. Alex and Lee want to work together to close deals on the Zonda, but Lucinda is not confident enough to sell on her own. Lucinda gets upset and crying in the car, Lucinda heads off to the King's Road in Chelsea where she tries to sell the Zonda.
At 5pm both Alpha and Renaissance converge on Canary Wharf and, decked out in bow ties and ball gowns, they begin a charm offensive on the city workers who are leaving work for the day. Lucinda sells an hour in the Aston Martin and Michael manages to do a deal for a day in the Ferrari. Helene remains the weakest sales person. Helene has not closed a deal but she has pulled one of her potential buyers...
As usual, Claire is selling steadily, racking up lots of orders for afternoon spins and morning show-boating in the Striker. Far fewer sales are made by the Alpha team - but Lee and Alex have been plugging away with the high-value Zonda. As the last seconds of selling time tick by, they run to meet a client who looks like he will sign on the dotted line.
Back in the boardroom,Margaret Mountford confirms that the Renaissance team agreed rentals worth £2114.
Nick Hewer reveals that Alpha have done deals worth £11,815.
Having won by a large margin, Alpha are treated to a wine tasting experience at a top London hotel.
Michael tried bravely to defend himself, but given his previous encounters with Sir Alan in the boardroom, it was no surprise to anyone to hear Sir Alan say "Michael, you're fired."
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