The pitch
What walked into the Den
Craft Clubs appeared on Dragons' Den in season 14, episode 1, which aired in 2016, pitched by John Burke and Jon Hulme.
In the pitch, Craft Clubs asked the Dragons for £75,000 for 12.5% of the business, valuing the business at about £600,000.
After the show
What happened next
On air, Craft Clubs agreed a deal of £75,000 for 12.5%, backed by SarahWillingham. The terms are quoted from the aired episode as public record.
Our read
The Hub verdict
Twelve and a half percent is a slim slice to offer, and Craft Clubs' founders offered it deliberately: £75,000 for 12.5 percent implies a £600,000 valuation on their craft gin subscription. That is the confidence of a business with recurring revenue behind it, where a low equity ask is easier to defend.
John Burke and Jon Hulme got it away exactly as pitched, with Sarah Willingham, herself a drinks-industry investor, taking the stake at the terms proposed. The alignment of a specialist Dragon with a subscription drinks model is the kind of fit the show occasionally lands well. A gin subscription also solves the problem most drinks brands bring into the Den, which is not making the product but finding people who keep buying it.
A slim stake defended by recurring revenue.
