Dragons Den Pitches That Turned Down a Bigger Offer
A no deal outcome is usually assumed to mean the Dragons said no. In a good number of cases in our records, it is actually the entrepreneur who says no, turning down an offer that was made in good faith because the terms attached to it were not acceptable to them.
The 78 pitches in our data that ended this way tend to involve some of the more dramatic moments of any episode, since a real number was on the table and someone still chose to walk out without it.
Diamond Geezer, offered £255,000 for 40%
Clive Billing was offered £255,000 for 40% of Diamond Geezer in season 6 by Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and James Caan, three Dragons together, and turned it down.
It is the largest rejected offer in our entire dataset, and having three separate investors agree to back a pitch only for the entrepreneur to say no makes it one of the more surprising outcomes on this list.
Westhawk, offered £255,000 for 48%
Eddie Middleton was offered the same £255,000 amount for 48% of Westhawk in season 7 by Peter Jones and James Caan, and also turned it down.
Giving up close to half the business for the money was evidently too steep a price, even with two Dragons behind the offer.
Yogabugs, offered £250,000 for 30%
Fenella Lindsell and Lara Goodbody were offered £250,000 for 30% of their children's yoga brand in season 3 by Peter Jones, Richard Farleigh and Theo Paphitis, and turned it down.
Three Dragons backing the pitch together makes this one of several rejected offers on this list where investor appetite was clearly not the problem.
Biotiful Dairy, offered £250,000 for 45%
Natasha Bowes was offered £250,000 for 45% of Biotiful Dairy by Deborah Meaden in season 13, and turned it down.
It is one of the larger single Dragon offers in our records, rejected on the grounds of the equity being asked for rather than any lack of interest from the panel.
Caddy Motion, offered £250,000 for 50%
John Mooney and Andy O'Reilly were offered £250,000 for half of Caddy Motion in season 3 by Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh, and turned it down.
Giving up exactly half the company was evidently a bridge too far, even with two Dragons willing to co-invest.
ID Scan Biometrics, offered £250,000 for 50%
Tamlyn Thompson was offered £250,000 for half of ID Scan Biometrics by Richard Farleigh in season 3, and turned it down.
It is one of two rejected offers on this list from the same season asking for exactly half the business in return for a quarter of a million pounds.
EDV Videos, offered £250,000 for 25%
Richard Williamson was offered £250,000 for 25% of EDV Videos by Deborah Meaden and Richard Farleigh in season 4, and turned it down.
A quarter of the business for a quarter of a million pounds is a comparatively generous offer by the standards of this list, which makes the rejection more notable.
Postsaver, offered £160,000 for 35%
Jim and Richard George were offered £160,000 for 35% of Postsaver in season 9 by four Dragons together, Deborah Meaden, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis and Hilary Devey, and turned it down.
Four separate investors agreeing to back one pitch is rare in our data, which makes this one of the more remarkable rejections on this whole list.