DRAGONS DRAMA
‘Flabbergasted’ Peter Jones swipes at ‘mad’ Deborah Meaden as pair lock horns over Dragons’ Den pitch
He also lashed out at the pitchers, calling their product ‘average’
DRAGONS’ Den star Peter Jones admitted he was left “flabbergasted” after “mad” co-star Deborah Meaden invested with Kerbo Charge last night.
Peter, 57, and Deborah, 65, locked horns after Mike Goulden and Ben Whittaker presented their eco-friendly car charging brand to the Dragons.
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Mike and Ben were third to pitch last night, and showed off their business Kerbo Charge, which fits underground charging cables for electric car drivers right outside their property.
The pair started off their pitch citing facts and figures, and pointed out that the government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2035.
But according to Mike and Ben, there’s a gap in the market, and that’s where Kerbo Charge comes in. They said their curbside charging option would be especially useful for people who don’t have private off-street parking.
Deborah was immediately taken with Mike and Ben’s business idea. However, Peter was less impressed.
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Deborah Meaden thought Kerbo Charge made a good pitch
Mike and Ben presented their business to the Dragons and asked for an investment of £50,000 for a 2% stake in the company.
Peter immediately started to voice in concerns about their business proposal, but Deborah was impressed and quickly showed her support.
“I couldn’t agree less with Peter,” she told Mike and Ben. “I think you’ve got a ready group of people who are desperate to solve this problem, to help their revenue.
“Local authorities have an impending massive problem that is going to cost them a fortune unless they find themselves a very cost-effective way of dealing with this driving issue. And there is a lot of cash around for solving these problems.”
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Deborah made it clear she saw Kerbo Charge’s potential and offered to help Mike and Ben take their business further.
She said: “Electric vehicles is the hottest topic when it comes to environmental issues. This is solving an issue and you have very little competition.”
“What I can bring is contacts beyond what I’m sure you hoped for, so I’m gonna make you an offer, guys,” she said.
Her offer did meet the investment request of 50k, but in return she asked for a larger stake in the business.
Upon negotiation, Deborah agreed to drop her stake from 7.5% to 6% and agreed to invest the £50,000.
Who were the pitchers on Dragons' Den this week?
These companies entered the den this week to pitch the dragons on their innovations.
- Jasmine Wicks-Stephens - Owner of skincare brand Faace.
- Gemma Connolly - Founder of Scoff Paper.
- Mike Goulden and Ben Whittaker - Creators of Kerbo Charge.
- Maria Antoniou - Chocolatier and the owner of Chocolate Moments Ltd.
In the aftermath, Peter exclaimed that he was “flabbergasted” by the move.
“You offered on an underground cable track. Honestly, I don’t know what to say...” he added.
Peter Jones called his fellow dragon ‘mad’ for wanting to invest
Peter had voiced his objections to Kerbo Charge all the way through their pitch.
First, he pointed out issues with their “fixed location” in the pavement, before suggesting that there isn’t enough support for this kind of product.
“If this is required and you’ve got a street full of electric cars, you’d need this all the way down the street. We could end up having street fights over who’s charging their cars. I think that’s a major, major flaw in this and I just don’t see the bigger opportunity here,” Peter theorised.
When it was his turn to invest or drop out, Peter quickly did the latter.
Dragons' Den stars - past and present
Dragons' Den has been on our screens since 2005 and sees entrepreneurs enter the Den to try and win investment for their businesses from the Dragons.
Over the years there have been many wealthy investors sitting in the famous seats, here's a rundown of them all and how long they were on the show for.
- Peter Jones - series 1 - present
- Deborah Meaden - series 3 - present
- Touker Suleyman - series 13 - present
- Sara Davies - series 17 - present
- Steven Bartlett - series 19 - present
- Duncan Bannatyne - series 1 - 12
- Rachel Elnaugh - series 1 and 2
- Doug Richard - series 1 and 2
- Simon Woodroffe - series 1
- Theo Paphitis - series 2 -10
- Richard Farleigh - series 3 and 4
- James Caan - series 5-8
- Hilary Devey - series 9 and 10
- Kelly Hoppen - series 11 and 12
- Piers Linney - series 11 and 12
- Nick Jenkins - series 13 and 14
- Sarah Willingham - series 13 and 14
- Jenny Campbell - series 15 and 16
- Tej Lalvani - series 15 - 18
- Emma Grede and Gary Neville were guest Dragons during series 21.
He said: “Frankly, nothing surprises me in here, but I just find this incredible that we’re even having a conversation about something that is averagely innovative; a tube underground with a self-sealing clip on the top that’s gonna hide a cable across a pathway.”
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Peter claimed that Kerbo Charge still had “so far to go” and that Meaden’s interest was “mad.”
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Dragons' Den continues next Thursday on BBC One at 8pm.
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