Entrepreneur tells of Dragons Den heartache

A Shropshire entrepreneur who was refused a £250,000 investment when he appeared on the BBC hit show Dragon's Den today spoke of his disappointment.

Andy Leslie, from Bridgnorth, said it was a tough task standing in front of the five multi-millionaires and enduring a grilling from them.

Mr Leslie and his business partner Stuart Archibald, from Leeds, were given three minutes to pitch their idea to the five investors and they asked for £250,000 in return for a 10 per cent share in their company, Shopbox Systems Ltd.

The Shopbox is a lockable, portable and refrigerated container which can be left outside a property so groceries can be delivered at any time, even if the owner is not home.

The pair, who appeared on the BBC Two show on Wednesday, said its unique selling point meant no more waiting in or tricky rescheduling with supermarkets over home deliveries.

Mr Leslie, 48, who lives at East Castle Street in High Town with his wife Kristina, 38, and his four children, said he did not regret entering the den

"It was fun and really exciting. It was a little bit nerve wrecking but you just had to get over it," he said.

"We were looking for investment and just thought about going into the den.

"But we were in there for two-and-a-half hours. When you are at home you only get to see a few minutes but we were standing in front of them for a long time. I think we were one of the longest ever pitches.

"With the studio lights and standing all the time it is quite a difficult experience and the dragons are sitting down sipping water every few minutes."

Millionaire Peter Jones said it would not take long for supermarkets to make arrangements and deliver to peoples' homes within a 10 minute time slot.

But the "Dragon" then had a change of heart and questioned what percentage he would get in the company if he offered up £1 million, but after the business duo could not reveal a percentage he lost interest and they left the den.

Mr Leslie added: "We thought it looked good when Peter Jones was talking about giving us the £1 million but it didn't happen.

"But his interest showed that we have something."

He added Shopbox Systems Ltd would begin to roll out the product to the public on September 1.