Is Umbrolly Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Charles Ejogo pitched Umbrolly on the very first episode of Dragons' Den in January 2005, offering a vending machine that dispensed umbrellas to caught out commuters on rainy days.
The answer is no, at least for the business as originally pitched. The UK operation stopped trading in 2010, and the original company was struck off in 2012.
What they pitched in the Den
Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones made a joint offer of £150,000 for 40% of the business, and Ejogo accepted on air. It is a rare example of a deal actually falling apart afterwards rather than either succeeding quietly or failing outright.
Roughly seven months after the broadcast, the Dragons' deal collapsed over a misunderstanding about advertising rights on the vending machines. The Dragons believed advertising space had already been secured; Ejogo had only hoped to arrange it later. He went on to set up a fresh company without his original television backers.
Are they still trading?
No, not in the UK. After splitting from the original Dragons' Den deal, Ejogo secured new investment from Burlington Investment Partners in 2007 and expanded Umbrolly internationally into France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and the US between 2008 and 2010.
In March 2010, the UK arm ceased trading after losing its UK operating partner, Photo-Me International, following a change of leadership there. Companies House confirms the original Umbrolly Limited, company number 05385081, was formally dissolved on 26 June 2012, some two years after UK trading stopped. A separate, unrelated company also called Umbrolly Ltd was incorporated in Manchester in 2022; that is a different business and not a continuation of Ejogo's venture.
What happened to the machines?
At the time UK trading ended, reports indicated the Umbrolly vending service continued under licence in France, Germany and the Netherlands, though we have not been able to verify whether any of those licensed operations are still active in 2026.
For UK readers specifically, the clean summary is that the business you would have seen pitched on television is closed, its UK company dissolved, and no current UK vending presence under this name.
If you spot an umbrella vending machine branded Umbrolly today, treat it as a legacy installation or, at best, a remnant of one of those overseas licences rather than evidence of an ongoing UK company.