Is Water Buoy Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Still after Water Buoy?We have not confirmed a current listing, so this searches Amazon for you.
Look for Water Buoy on AmazonFull story →James Halliburton pitched Water Buoy, a floating device built to retrieve anything lost overboard from a boat, wanting £200,000 for a quarter of the business, with Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis both keen to invest.
Two Investors Competing For One Deal
A device that can pull back a phone, a piece of kit, or in a worst case a person, gives a pitch a genuine safety hook that tends to earn an easier hearing than a pure novelty item.
Jones and Paphitis reportedly lined up to fund the £200,000 ask, but the inventor turned the money down after filming, saying interest from sailing equipment distributors around the world had already reduced how much outside capital he actually needed.
A Long Gap In The Public Trail
Later coverage ties the invention to a related venture called Seatriever, with one update describing a plan to relaunch it after a long stretch of the idea sitting largely dormant.
A long dormant stretch followed by a relaunch plan usually points to a small operation ticking along quietly rather than one actively scaling.
How The Story Reads
This reads less like a rejected idea and more like a founder choosing independence over outside backing, which does not guarantee ongoing retail success but is a different situation entirely from a business the market turned down.
Anyone hoping to buy the device today would need to hunt down a live seller themselves rather than take one for granted.