Dragon's Den has helped hundreds of budding entrepreneurs make fortunes from their ideas.
The show premiered in 2005 and has since ran for 19 seasons. There has been many changes to the line-up over its 17 year stint, but the latest Dragons include Peter Jones, Steven Bartlett, Touker Souleyman, Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies.
Presenter Evan Davis welcomes the budding entrepreneurs to the show before the Dragons decide whether they are going to invest in the business after hearing a pitch. The Innovation Investment Index report by money.co.uk has compiled data on the programme's biggest success stories - as Business Live reports.
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From items you'd find in the kitchen, to the office, and even fake tan - we've taken a look at some of the show's best big hitters.
Levi Roots
Dragons: Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh
Investment amount: £50,000 for an impressive 40% equity in the company
Back in 2007, Reggae singer and chef Levi Roots pitched his spicy Reggae Reggae Sauce to the Dragons’ and successfully managed to secure £50,000 to manufacture his product. In return, Levi Roots was offering 20% of the equity in his business. The sauce is a secret recipe from Levi's grandmother. He was told there was “no future for this business” by Duncan Bannatyne but Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh saw something else and invested £50,000 for 40% equity in the company.
Reggae Reggae sauces are now stocked in all major UK supermarkets, taking London-based Roots’ worth to an estimated £30 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Peter Jones remains a shareholder and advocate for the brand, claiming “it’s one of my most successful investments from the show”.
Magic Whiteboard
Dragons: Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis
Investment amount: £100,000 investment for a 40% share of the company
Founded by Worcester husband-and-wife team Neil and Laura Westwood back in 2006, Magic Whiteboard is basically a roll of A1 whiteboard sheets that will stick on anything thanks to static. It is now stocked in all major office supply stores with a global customer base.
The product is now said to be Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis’ most successful investment with the portable whiteboard achieving impressive growth since appearing on the show. In September 2014, the Westwood’s bought back their shares from Meaden and Paphitis, giving the investors £800,000 return on their £100,000 investment.
Having increased sales from £45,000 to £1.2 million a year, and consistently delivering healthy profits, the founders decided to ask Theo and Deborah to sell back their shares. Neil and Laura wanted to give their children, Ella and Morley the shares to secure their future.
Skinny Tan
Dragons: Kelly Hoppen and Piers Linney
Investment amount: £60,000 for a 10% stake in the company
Skinny Tan, a self-tan brand, went from start-up to global success after its founders Louise Ferguson and Kate Cotton pitched to the Dragons’ in 2013. It didn’t take long until Skinny Tan became one of the fastest-selling tanning products in the UK.
Launched in Australia in 2012, the brand boasted profits of £600,000 in its first year. After hearing the success after a year, all five Dragons showed interest, with Kelly Hoppen and Piers Linney sealing the deal with an offer of £60,000 for a 10% stake in the company.
The company was sold for an undisclosed sum in June 2015, both co-founders and Hoppen and Linney remain shareholders. In April 2020, Kate and Louise revealed that they plan to extend to Spain and South Africa next.
Wonderbly
Dragon: Piers Linney
Investment amount: £100,000 for a 4% stake in the company
Founded by dads Asi Sharabi, David Cadji-Newby, Tal Oron and Pedro Serapicos in 2012, the creative fiction books for kids were pitched to the dragons back in 2014. Originally named Lost My Name, Wonderbly creates personalised children's books that feature its readers in the stories. The idea impressed, Piers Linney, who invested the full £100,000 requested for a 4% stake.
The London-based company has gone on to sell more than two million books worldwide with Dragon Piers Linney reporting it as "the most successful business to have ever passed through the Den's walls" in 2015.
Razzamataz Theatre Schools
Dragon: Duncan Bannatyne
Investment amount: £50,000
Founder Denise Hutton-Gosney pitched her dance schools to the Dragons’ back in 2007. She secured an investment of £50,000 from Duncan Bannatyne. With the dragon's support, the Cumbria-based company was able to launch all over the UK and abroad.
In 2014, Hutton-Gosney was able to buy back Bannatyne's stake in the company for £70,000 and now owns 90% of the company.
Chocbox
Dragons: Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan
Investment amount: £150,000 in return for a 36% stake in his business
Hertfordshire entrepreneur Peter Moule invented a plastic cable device as a way to store electrical wires safely. He pitched his idea to the Dragons’ in 2007 and secured the support of Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan who invested £150,000 in return for a 36% stake in his business.
Peter's gadget went on to net £25 million in global sales since first appearing on the show. In an interview with North East Exclusive magazine in 2013, Bannatyne described Chocbox as one of his best investments from the show.
Mainstage Festivals
Dragon: Piers Linney
Investment amount: £100,000 in return for 15% of their company.
Founded in 2011 by Rob Tominey and Aden Levin, Mainstage Festivals offered “once in a lifetime” low-cost clubbing holidays for the 18-24 market. When Tominey and Levin pitched the Dragons, the business already had revenues of £1.6 million.
The entrepreneurs received multiple bids and accepted Piers Linney’s offer for £100,000 in return for 15% of their company.
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