Dragons’ Den investors Steven Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Sara Davies, and Touker Suleyman have spent years backing bold entrepreneurs on our screens.
But when it comes to securing a deal, who really has the edge? A deep dive into the numbers by Prolific North uncovered a striking trend—male-only pitches have attracted nearly twice as much investment as female-only pitches over the past three series, raising fresh concerns about gender disparity in business funding.
Since 2023, male-led pitches have secured a staggering £2,445,000 in investment—almost double the £1,243,000 awarded to female-led businesses.
In total, 78 pitches have won backing during this period, with a combined £4.97m invested by the Dragons. Yet, while 35 male-only pitches walked away with a deal, just 23 female-only entrepreneurs managed to secure funding.
There were also 20 successful joint male-female pitches in that time, which won £1.28m in investment for their businesses.
Prolific North shared the data with the BBC and a spokesperson said: “Dragons’ Den is a business entertainment programme which features products created by entrepreneurs but is not an endorsement of them. The Dragons’ decision to invest is their own, and the BBC has no involvement or commercial interest in any investments.”
The data only analyses how much was pitched on air and doesn’t look at what happened behind the scenes after the cameras stopped rolling in the Manchester studio where it’s filmed, with some deals falling through later.
Where female-led pitches do seem to be doing slightly better than their male counterparts is in how much equity they are willing to give up to secure a deal. Over the past three years, successful female entrepreneurs secured deals while giving up an average of 20.6% of their companies, compared to 21% for men.
Joint male-female pitches, where a mix of genders shared the pitching, fared even better in negotiations. They only gave away 16.7% equity in their deals on average.
READ MORE: Five Northern companies that failed to fire up the Dragons but did rather well anyway
The data does highlight a shift in the gender balance in recent years. While men continued to outnumber women in successful deals, the gap has narrowed significantly in the last two series’. In the current run (up to episode 6), six female-led pitches have already won investment, compared to seven male-led ventures.
Last year’s series also saw a more even split, with 10 female-only pitches securing deals, just one fewer than the 11 male-only pitches. That series also saw the single biggest investment go to a female-led business, with Kimai, a sustainable jewellery brand, landing £250,000 from investor Steven Bartlett for just 3% equity.
READ MORE: Inside the Manchester studio where BBC’s Dragons’ Den is filmed
The data highlights a broader issue in business investment, where female founders have long struggled to secure funding. According to the Rose Review, just 2% of UK venture capital goes to all-female-founded startups, despite a record number of women launching businesses.
Rachel Clark, founder of Only The Kind Media, pitched to the Dragons with her sustainable beauty brand in 2020. Despite not winning investment during her pitch, she believes the show is helping bring about change.
She said: “Although the Dragons have invested less in women-led businesses, they’re actually doing a lot better than the rest of UK startup investors.
“Data from PitchBook indicates that female-led startups in the UK receive only around 1-2% of all venture capital funding (estimated to be £10-15 billion).
“This means that only about 1 in 20 investment deals goes to a female-led company, even though women represent roughly 20% of UK entrepreneurs.”
She says there are a number of reasons why female-led businesses are ‘poorly represented when it comes to investment.’
“The Dragons often have other reasons not to invest in founders,” she added. “It could be they already invested in a competing business or brand, that they’re not the target customer so they don’t understand the offer, or just that the pitch is terrible.”
Several of the Dragons’ themselves have spoken out about the barriers women business leaders can face and have pledged to help level the playing field.
Sara Davies, who built Crafter’s Companion before joining the show, has been a vocal advocate for female entrepreneurs. Last year, she became Avon UK’s first Chief Inspiration Officer, addressing challenges such as access to finance, lack of confidence, and uncertainty about where to begin.
“The country is filled with women from all walks of life with entrepreneurial flair and potential,” she said at the time. “Unlocking this would pay dividends for the economy and give it a much-needed boost.”
SO WHICH FEMALE LED BUSINESS HAVE WON INVESTMENT?
SERIES 20 (2023)
Lucy Rout – Tabuu – £50,000 investment – 40% equity given
Grace Frost – Psychic Sisters – £50,000 – 10% equity given
Amelia Gammon – Bide Planet – £80,000 investment – 20% equity given
Zoe Chapman – KiddiWhizz – £50,000 investment – 20% equity given
Caroline Simms – Botanycl – £50,000 investment – 25% equity given
Kellie Aspland and Laura Water – Solar Buddies – £80,000 investment – 25% equity given
Jo Proud – Mood Bears – £30,000 investment – 25% equity given
SERIES 21 (2024)
Giselle Boxer – Acu Seeds – £50,000 investment – 12.5% equity given
Pavan Dhanjal – Pavan Beauty – £50,000 investment – 40% equity given
Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaud – Kimai – £250,000 investment – 3% equity given
Titi Belo – Ori Lifestyle – £60,000 investment – 25% equity given
Jasmine Wicks-Stephens – Face – £60,000 investment – 15% equity given
Gemma Connolly – Scoff Paper – £50,000 investment – 25% equity given
Diane Challender – Zebedee Any Angle – £75,000 investment – 40% equity given
Kitty August – Natural Play Makeup Company – £75,000 investment – 20% equity given
Amelia Christie-Miller – Bold Bean Co – £50,000 investment – 7.5% equity given
Gina Farren – Glaize Manicure – £100,000 investment – 8% equity given
CURRENT SERIES (up to episode six)
Emma Burke – Jaceeze – £50,000 investment – 40% equity given
Yanna Smaglo – Nenya – £80,000 investment – 20% equity given
Susie Tau and Yan Ting – Dot Dot Bubble Tea – £50,000 investment – 10% equity given
Laura Harnett – Seep – £50,000 investment – 4% equity given
Sandy Tang – Love Sum – £50,000 investment – 20% equity given
Hayley Hanigan – Tiny Explorers – £50,000 investment – 20% equity given
