The Biggest Equity Ever Given Away in the Den
Landing a deal in the Den is only half the story. The other half is how much of the business the entrepreneur actually kept, and some of the confirmed deals in our records show founders giving up a very large share of what they built to get the investment across the line.
This list is limited to pitches where the exact final equity percentage was disclosed on air, since a lot of deals end with the amount known but the equity split left vague.
Rapstrap, 50%
Andrew Harsley gave up exactly half of Rapstrap for £150,000 from Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan in season 6.
It is tied for the largest confirmed equity share given away for any deal in our entire dataset.
Liquiproof, 50%
Caner Veli also gave up half of Liquiproof, to Touker Suleyman, for £100,000 in season 13, after originally asking for just 5% in exchange for the same amount.
Going from a 5% ask to a 50% deal is one of the steepest renegotiations behind any confirmed deal we tracked.
Beach Powder, 49%
Stephanie Kelsey gave up 49% of Beach Powder, split between Sara Davies and Touker Suleyman, for the £60,000 she originally asked for in season 18.
It is just shy of giving up a majority stake in the business for the investment.
Magic Whiteboard, Billy+Margot and Reggae Reggae Sauce, 40% each
Three separate deals in our records settled at exactly 40% equity: Magic Whiteboard to Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden, Billy+Margot to Deborah Meaden alone, and Reggae Reggae Sauce to Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.
40% shows up often enough in our confirmed deal data that it looks like a common landing point for negotiations once a Dragon is genuinely interested but wants a serious stake.
A Turner & Sons, 33.3%
Paul Turner gave up a third of A Turner & Sons for the £80,000 he secured in season 10.
A clean one third split is a notably tidy number compared to some of the odder percentages elsewhere on this list.
Glassbusters and PÄRLA Toothpaste Tabs, 30% each
Pete Ancketill's Glassbusters and Dr Simon Chard and Dr Ronah Escander's PÄRLA Toothpaste Tabs both settled at 30% equity for their respective deals.
Both are confirmed six figure or near six figure investments, showing that a 30% stake was enough to unlock serious money in more than one case.