Kate Middleton's Brother: James Middleton's Cake Business Bailed Out With Family Money

Kate Middleton's brother James' cake company that he set up in 2011, Nice Group London Ltd, incurred a debt of over $25,000 and had to have a Middleton family member bail him out according to The Telegraph.  The 25-year-old set up this company in order to sell his personalized cakes, Nice Cakes, which is based near his and the Duchess of Cambridge's parent's business, Party Pieces. Unlike their son's venture, Party Pieces has turned Carole and Michael Middleton into multi-millionaires.

When his company started to look a little worse for wear, James kept his confidence and brushed off the low figures and earnings as steps that a start-up takes, saying:

"Nice Group is a start-up company and as you can imagine there are overheads needed to start a company. I made the decision to finance the business myself along with a loan rather than go to investors.

"This has its pros and cons, it does mean things don't move as quickly as I would like but it does mean I keep complete ownership and control over my company. Further down the line I may look to open the doors for investors but I will see how things go.

"It is not uncommon for start-up companies to make a loss in the early stages of development and it is not something I am concerned about right now. On the contrary I am very excited as after running a pilot over 2012, Nice Cakes will be officially launching later this year with a brand new website and range of products which I am very excited about."

James Middleton dropped out of the University of Edinburgh after a year so he could focus on business ventures such as Nice Group, which he set up before the Royal wedding. Nice Cakes sells "personalized cakes with corporate logos and photographs printed onto them in edible ink." Friends have said that James "would like to be the next Richard Branson" and is expected to make "serious money". Unfortunately, well, THIS.

In 2011, James stated, "My mother and father have been fantastic help and a huge support for me. Like any other family, though, we have our moments, living and working together." Hindsight, James.

James also runs another business called The Cake Kit Company. This venture also needed a bank loan before it went into profit and has won several awards since it was launched in 2007.