Sara Davies has come to the defence of her fellow Dragon, Touker Suleyman, over one of the most controversial moments in the history of the show.
Viewers acted in fury earlier this year with an offer Suleyman made to Lucie Macleod, founder of Pembrokeshire-based hair oils business Hair Syrup, in series 22.
The 26-year-old had been seeking £190,000 in exchange for 3 per cent of her flourishing business but things did not go according to plan.
Deborah Meaden appeared to question whether Macleod, who will be speaking at BusinessCloud’s Northern Leaders Futures event in Leeds on June 17th, knew how dividends worked with guest Dragon Trinny Woodall piping up: “I think Lucie doesn’t know.”
It was at this point that Suleyman made one of the most outrageous offers in the history of the show.
He offered the full £190,000 in exchange for 3 per cent – but only if he got all his money back after three months and kept the 3 per cent!
Meaden warned her she was ‘basically giving away those shares’ while Steven Bartlett advised her to walk to the back of the Den before making a decision.
Sensing the mood Suleyman quickly backtracked on his offer and joined the other Dragons in announcing ‘I’m out’.
Suleyman’s tactics were roundly condemned by TV viewers and on social media when the episode was screened in January but Macleod has no regrets with sales up 66 per cent.
She was recently named Young Businessperson of the Year in the Swansea Bay Business Awards.
Outgoing Dragon, Sara Davies, spoke about what happened during BusinessCloud’s recent Northern Leaders event in Newcastle – and came to Suleyman’s defence.
She recalled: “It wasn’t about the money, she (Macleod) needed a mentor to take that business to the next level.
“None of us could stack up the business proposal. She was wanting £190,000 for 3 per cent of her business.
“Her business was worth about £6/7m or whatever it was, we all agreed with that, just none of us wanted to risk £190,000 and only take 3 per cent of her business.
“What Touker offered was something that would happen a lot in the real business world. He more or less said ‘I’ll invest in your business for nothing, I’ll give you the money, but I want it back in three months’ time’.
“Now I would never have said that because I could picture Twitter blowing up with me.
“Everybody who doesn’t understand business is going to look and think you’re just taking advantage of that girl. What he was doing was looking at that and thinking there’s somebody who just desperately needs a mentor. I think I’m valuable enough to your business that actually I’m worth 3 per cent of your business for nothing.
“His motivation in that moment wasn’t to take advantage of her, it was to help her in that way. I know because I’m good friends with Touker and I think you’ve got to be so aware of your personal brand and who you are and what you stand for and how that will be perceived once that episode is cut.”
Reflecting on her time in Dragons’ Den, Davies said she’s always tried to be fair in her dealings.
“I have to say, as awful as a platform as Twitter or ‘X’ is, I’ve always probably been seen in the most positive light versus the other Dragons on there,” she said.
“I think it’s because everything I do, I’m fair in what I say.”
She said her appearance and questions about her weight created a lot of chatter on social media but her priority was to be fair at all times.
Despite her bruising encounter of Dragons’ Den, Macleod has described it as the ‘best experience’.
“Appearing on Dragons’ Den has completely transformed my business trajectory and my life,” she said.
“We’ve seen a 66 per cent increase in sales and the publicity I’ve had off the back of it has been mind-blowing.”
At the heart of Macleod’s success has been her ability to laugh at herself and her deep understanding of social media, especially TikTok – which accounts for nearly half of Hair Syrup’s sales.
In 2024, Hair Syrup’s turnover was £4.5m with a net profit £1.4m. This year they’re expected to hit £6.5m and plan to grow turnover to £10m by 2028.
You can hear Macleod speak at BusinessCloud’s latest exclusive event – Northern Leaders: Meet the New Generation of Entrepreneur (NGE) – on June 17th along with The Apprentice contestant Keir Shave and 19 of the names from our prestigious Northern Leaders Futures list.
Register here