Levi Roots offered 20% of Reggae Reggae Sauce for £50,000 on Dragons' Den.
The proposal is a straightforward example of how equity investment is presented on the show. Roots asked for £50,000 and offered one-fifth of the business, implying a pre-investment valuation of £250,000. Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh agreed to invest together after the pitch.
The deal became famous not only because of its financial terms but also because Roots delivered the presentation as a musical performance. That combination made the entrepreneur and product highly memorable to viewers. The sauce’s later retail success gave the pitch an unusually visible outcome beyond the television episode.
Percentage figures can be misremembered because business pitches often involve counteroffers. In this case, the headline terms associated with the televised Reggae Reggae Sauce pitch are £50,000 for 20%. The percentage refers to ownership, not to a share of sales or profit from each bottle.