BBC Dragon's Den is adapted from which Japanese business-investment programme?

BBC Dragon's Den is adapted from the Japanese programme Money Tigers.

Money Tigers established the format in which entrepreneurs appear before wealthy investors, explain their business proposition and ask for capital in return for a stake in the company. The British version retained that basic structure while giving the investors the title “Dragons.”

The format became international, with local adaptations using different names and panels. In the United States, the closely related programme is Shark Tank, but that is not the Japanese source of the British series. The British show is therefore part of a wider television format family rather than an entirely separate invention.

The investment process shown on television is also only the beginning of a deal. Offers still require negotiation and due diligence after filming, so an on-screen agreement is not always completed exactly as first proposed.