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Rejected 'Dragons Den' Businessman Is Offered £90m For His Company

Rejected 'Dragons Den' Businessman Is Offered £90m For His Company

What does Deborah Meaden know anyway?!

Michael Minay

Michael Minay

Beware the Dragons. Not many come out of the den successful, yet one Saint George-esc dragon slayer has made some big claims about his business.

Rejected and slaughtered by Deborah Meaden on the BBC Two show, Dragons Den, Marco Hajikypri left the show not knowing where to turn.

He now claims he's been offered £90m for his company, Professional Gains.

Credit: BBC / Dragons Den

As he walked off set, the businessman told Peter Jones he would regret his 'foolish' decision not to invest, and now it looks like he's been proved right.

Hajikypri told the Birmingham Mail: "It's not worth that yet, but the potential investor - Coventry multi-millionaire Jojar Singh Dhinsa - has the vision to see what I could be making in a few years' time. Unlike the Dragons."

The Dragons valued his company at well below £2m. Meaden, who scrutinised him, for his lack of trademark.

Credit: BBC / Dragons Den

Hajikypri came unstuck when Meaden discovered his company did not have a trademark, and instead had only made an application to have one - despite him insisting otherwise.

She argued: "How do I know what else is going on in the business, that you're telling me and you haven't got a clue.

"This is like arguing with cotton wool," she added. "You don't own it."

The business was set up two years ago in a unit in West Bromwich, employing 20 people and preparing 7,000 healthy meals a week which are delivered to the customers' doors.

It now has 3 units of space and employs 30 people.

Credit: Professional Gains

At the time, Hajikpyri went in the den to ask for £125,000 for a 5 percent stake in his business. He got nothing.

"The business is now valued at around £16m," he added, "when the Dragons didn't even think it was worth £2m.

"I've certainly proved them wrong. I am glad they turned me down now, as I have done very well without their help.

"I didn't want their money anyway, I just wanted their contacts, but I've worked hard to achieve success on my own."

Hajikypri believes one day that his empire will be worth over a billion pounds.

Credit: BBC / Dragons Den

The meals from Professional Gains are all made to be part of a balanced diet and cost an average of £4.90. However, by recommending someone, they can get a £65 bonus. There's also no contract, so you can leave anytime.

He said: "All you have to do is share the app with four people, who get four people on board and so on.

"Within three months you will be eating for free and by month seven you should be earning a minimum of £5,277 a month."

They may know a lot about business but it's not every time the Dragons get it right.

Levi Roots, Hungry House and the Tangle Teezer are all winners from the show, but the latter was pretty much laughed off the show.

Cup-a-wine is another that was rejected. "People do not want to buy wine glasses like that," Duncan Bannatyne said in 2009. In 2012, its creator, James Nash, struck a deal with Marks and Spencers.

Featured Image Credit: BBC / Dragons Den

Topics: deborah meaden