The 28-year-old will join Dragons Peter Jones (55), Deborah Meaden (62), Touker Suleyman (67) and Sara Davies (36) for the 19th series of the BBC One programme.
As part of their Innovation Investment Index report, the investment experts at money.co.uk have discovered which of the Dragons have made the most savvy investments, as they welcome the newcomer into the Den for season 19.
Below, we've listed the top three investments for each of the Dragons, plus created a handy league table, featuring the vital statistics for every Dragon who has appeared in the last 18 seasons.
Dragon’s Den League Table: Solo Deals of Past and Present
- Peter Jones is the most prolific investor in the den with 68 deals, but on average his equity stake is only around 25%
- James Caan, who appeared during seasons 5 and 8 scored 11 solo deals in the den, with an average investment of £100,000 and 35% equity stake per deal, making him the ex-dragon who secured arguably the best deals
- Tej Lalvani (who Steven Bartlett will replace) made 20 solo investments with an average equity of 26%
- Deborah Meaden has the next highest number of solo deals at 62, but secures 20% on average per deal
- Rachel Elnaugh from seasons 1 and 2 made just three investments for £229,000, with 37% equity across the deals
| Dragon | Seasons | Total Number of Solo Deals* | Total Invested | Average Investment |
| Peter Jones | 1-18 | 68 | £5,565,500 | £81,846 |
| Deborah Meaden | 3-18 | 62 | £4,667,000 | £75,274 |
| Duncan Bannatyne | 1-12 | 27 | £2,580,000 | £95,556 |
| Theo Paphitis | 2-10 | 19 | £2,115,000 | £111,316 |
| Tej Lalvani | 15-18 | 20 | £1,560,000 | £78,000 |
| James Caan | 5-8 | 11 | £1,100,000 | £100,000 |
| Touker Suleyman | 13-18 | 16 | £950,000 | £59,375 |
| Nick Jenkins | 13-14 | 10 | £670,000 | £67,000 |
| Piers Linney | 11-12 | 8 | £590,000 | £73,750 |
| Hilary Devey | 9-10 | 7 | £475,000 | £67,857 |
| Jenny Campbell | 15-16 | 7 | £415,000 | £59,286 |
| Rachel Elnaugh | 1-2 | 3 | £229,000 | £76,333 |
| Sara Davies | 17-18 | 3 | £226,000 | £75,333 |
| Richard Farleigh | 3-4 | 3 | £225,000 | £75,000 |
| Sarah Willingham | 13-14 | 3 | £142,500 | £47,500 |
| Doug Richard | 1-2 | 1 | £120,000 | £120,000 |
| Kelly Hoppen | 11-12 | 2 | £100,000 | £50,000 |
| Simon Woodroffe | 1 | 1 | £75,000 | £75,000 |
*Deals made on the show may have since fallen through and figures do not include any joint deals made between more than one dragon
Peter Jones
Peter Jones is a British entrepreneur, businessman, and reality television personality with interests in mobile phones, television, media, leisure, retail, and property. He is the only remaining original investor on Dragons' Den.
Net worth: £450 million
Portfolio Size: 21 Investments
Average Investment: £83,696
Average Equity: 25%
Total Invested: £7,030,500
Avg. Investments per series: 5
Top 3 Investments:
- Nae Danger & Glencrest Sports & energy drink and cash & carry business
Investment amount: £200,000
Equity: 30%
- Wonderland – a high-end fashion and culture magazine
Investment amount: £175,000
Equity: 40%
- Tags Snack Foods Ltd – Potato crisps business
Investment amount: £125,000
Equity: 30%
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden is a businesswoman and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. However, more recently she is best known for her appearances on business programme Dragons' Den. In fact, Deborah was the only businesswoman on Dragons' Den for several years, taking a tough approach to young business hopefuls.
Net worth: £60 million
Portfolio size: 29 investments
Average Investment: £80,064
Average Equity: 30%
Total Invested: £6,245,000
Avg. Investments per series: 4
Top 3 Investments:
- Sockitz – Electrical socket protection shields
Investment amount: £100,000
Equity: 40%
- Value My Stuff – An online antique valuation service
Investment amount: £100,000
Equity: 40%
- Good Bubble – Naturally formulated bath time products for children
Investment amount: £60,000
Equity: 40%
Touker Suleyman
Touker is a British-Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor, and reality television personality. In 2001, his company Low Profile Group purchased UK shirt maker Hawes & Curtis, and in 2002 he purchased UK fashion label Ghost. However, since these initial investments he has since invested in a number of start-up companies including Bikesoup and Huxley & Cox. He has been a regular Dragon on the hit business television show since 2015.
Net worth: £200 million
Portfolio Size: 24 investments
Average Investment: £59,167
Average Equity: 34%
Total Invested: £1,420,000
Avg. Investments per series: 5
Top 3 Investments:
- Liquiproof – Waterproof coating for footwear, hats and clothing
Investment amount: £100,000
Equity: 50%
- Shnuggle – Baby bath and bed products
Investment amount: £100,000
Equity: 25%
- Tancream – Sun cream and moisturiser
Investment amount: £75,000
Equity: 25%
Sara Davies
Sara is a British businesswoman, entrepreneur, and television personality. She started her business venture as a Student at York University where she founded her own company Crafter’s Companion. Sara spotted a gap in the market for a tool that could create bespoke envelopes for handmade cards, by the time she graduated the business was turning over £500,000. In 2019 she joined the panel of Dragons' Den for its seventeenth series, replacing Jenny Campbell who decided to leave the programme in early 2019.
Net worth: £37 million
Portfolio Size: 3 investments
Average Investment: £77,500
Average Equity: 35%
Total Invested: £310,000
Avg. Investments per series: 1
Top 3 Investments:
- Drynks Unlimited – Alcohol-free Drinks
Investment amount: £125,000
Equity: 7.50%
- Mak Tok – Chilli Paste
Investment amount: £60,000
Equity: 33%
- Pipe Easy – Pipe Fitting tool
Investment amount: £41,000
Equity: 30%
Steven Bartlett
Steven is set to become the youngest ever Dragon, taking over from Tej Lalvani for the 19th series. Bartlett is the co-founder and former CEO of listed social media firm Social Chain, published author and podcaster. The young entrepreneur first launched the company from his Manchester bedroom aged 22, and went on to take it public at the age of 27. The social media firm has a market value of over £300million.
Net worth: £68.5m
Social Chain: Social media marketing agency
Huel: Meal replacement powder
Catena Capital: Private equity investment vehicle, specialising in venture capital investments.
Sources:
Data for 17 full Dragons’ Den seasons, gathered from Wikipedia correctly as of 13th May 2021, data for season 18 unavailable yet. Net worth data from Forbes
