Heard the one about the d octor, the nurse and the paramedic?
No? Then read on…
With Hilary being absent due to illness, it was left to Deborah Meaden to carry the fight for the girls last night.
Hardly worth her turning up, and I'd be amazed if the show's producers felt they received value for money from the 'leisure industry expert' last night.
The boys on the other hand all did their best to invest, even though only one of the three would eventually seal a deal with the entrepreneurs.
The doctor, nurse and paramedic were a trio of healthcare professionals who entered the Den in search of £50,000 in exchange for ten per cent of their first-aid training business.
Their slick pitch and even slicker demonstration initially caused some Dragons' ears to prick up. Well, three of them anyway - not Deborah. Instead she chose to indulge in some of that fingernail gazing - probably a tad narked that she hadn't been asked to act as the 'patient' for the CPR demonstration.
Their business looked a goer - to me anyway - although not dissimilar to loads of other course providers out there.
It was all going quite well for the trio until they revealed to the Dragons a rather odd business structure. It was complicated, but stay with me…
The bloke who was a nurse (I think) originally lived on the South Coast, and was one of the first-aid/CPR trainers… however, due to personal reasons he was moving further north… although he was moving away he would still be available for ad-hoc training, but not on a regular basis… he would remain one of the companies three shareholders… but would, save the odd ad-hoc course, contribute nothing to the business. The doctor, who practices in a NHS Trust, only owned ten per cent of the company and contributed on a similar level to the nurse. This left the paramedic, who was clearly the driving force… except he wasn't alone - he is now assisted by one (or is it two) part-timers.
Still with me?
If you are… top marks, because you surpassed three of the Dragons. By this point Peter and Theo had started to glaze over (not Debs, she was too busy 'nail gazing') and before too long, after citing that the structure was 'confusing' and 'too muddled', only Duncan was left.
The amiable Scot (yes, amiable for the entire evening) clearly spotted something in the trio that the others didn't - or perhaps it was the link to health clubs that enticed him. Either way he ignored the complicated company make-up - commenting that it could very easily be sorted - and was quick to go in with an offer of 32 per cent for the full £50,000.
Typically, a huddle at the back of the Den ensued but surprisingly, upon their return, the medics informed Duncan that it was ten per cent or nothing. You know the rest…
The only investment of the night came from a cheery Peter, who has now entered the cut-throat world of sausage making.
A very likeable gent by the name of Paul Turner was offering the Dragons a 20 per cent stake in the family sausage business in exchange for £80,000. During an extremely nervy pitch he did drop into the conversation that his had been voted 'Britain's Best Banger 2011', and from that point it was difficult to see who could resist.
As it happened, Theo, Duncan and The Meaden all managed to quite easily, citing confusion over the branding and an 'inability to dominate the supermarkets' (guess who). Luckily for Paul, Peter Jones recognised a decent banger when he saw one and, after a bit of haggling, agreed he would invest the full amount in exchange for a third of the sausage making business AND the family butcher shop business.
Perhaps not quite the deal expected, but a good one nevertheless for a family business that clearly meant more to Paul than cash alone.
The other close call of the night came when a straight-talking Yorkshire entrepreneur, by the name of Karina Oldale asked the Dragons for help in marketing her glorified rock salt product that she discovered in China. She came within a whisker of getting the support she needed from Theo, but blew it at the last minute when - based on advice from her family - she declared his wish for half of the company to be too great.
Others that fell by the wayside included a dance company ('uninvestable'), a talking letter (bonkers), a wheel cleaning gadget (!) and a blow-up origami product that the Dragons loved but saw no investment potential in whatsoever.
So a relatively quiet night in terms of investment - but with one dragon down and one not the slightest bit interested it was hardly surprising.
Luckily, Hils is back next week and so normality will hopefully be restored.
