The panel of investors on the British television programme Dragon's Den is collectively called the Dragons.
Entrepreneurs enter the Den to present their companies, products or business ideas and request investment. The wealthy businesspeople listening to those pitches are styled as Dragons, giving the programme its title and its distinctive British identity.
The term is sometimes confused with “Sharks,” the name used for investors on the American adaptation Shark Tank. Other international versions use their own animal metaphors, but “The Dragons” is the canonical term for the British programme.
The Dragons can make offers individually or together, usually in exchange for an agreed percentage of equity. A pitch may end with no offer, one offer or several competing offers. The on-screen agreement is also subject to later due diligence, so not every televised deal necessarily completes.