³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Nerves cause many a pitch to falter but as Dennis Fuller proved that doesn't always lead to failure. Perseverance can bring rewards in the Den

Dennis makes three attempts to get his pitch underway but once in his stride, he talks with passion about his Golfers' Mate. Dennis says that the gadget will have a recommended retail price of less than £10 and that he hopes to sell 400,000 units in a year. He adds that there is a strong corporate interest in branding his product.

Deborah Meaden admits that she is not a golfer and asks Dennis questions about what the product does and how big the market is for products like this. Crucially she wants to know how much money she could get as a return from her investment. When Dennis admits to Deborah that he does not know how big the market is Deborah berates him adruptly declares herself out.

Duncan Bannatyne is equally dismayed by the entrepreneur's lack of market research and follows suit.

Theo Paphitis suggests that while the product is nice he wonders if it's enough to sustain a business. When he asks Dennis about his background, he finds out that he is the chairman of a six branch employment agency.

With a background in this sector, James Caan pursues Theo's line of inquiry and is impressed with how Dennis has managed to ride the tough current economic storm.

James asks Dennis if he has £100,000 of his own money to invest. Dennis admits he has but he wants the Dragons help as he is not a retailer or a marketeer and he believes the Dragons could help him in these key areas.

Peter Jones tells Dennis that he is a keen golfer but feels he could pick up a similar product for a pound. Dennis agrees that you can buy basic ones cheaply but Peter sticks his ground and declares himself out.

While clearly warming to Dennis, Theo dismisses the product as over-engineered and declares himself out.

With only James left, Dennis passionately tells the Dragon he is confident of selling 60,000 units in 23 weeks or 2,000 in a week. He also informs him that lucrative deals in the Republic of Ireland and Germany are about to be clinched. He also hopes to tap into the European and US markets in the next three years.

Impressed, James offers Dennis the full amount he wants for a 30% share.

Dennis comes back with a counter offer - he will do a deal with James for 25% of the business on the proviso that the Dragon allows him to buy back a 15% share of the original £100,000 in 12 months time. The deal will effectively give James 10% of Dennis's company for nothing.

James is keen on this and the duo shake hands on the deal.

The deal done in the Den:

James Caan: £100,000 for a 25% stake in Golfers' Mate on the proviso that the Dragon allows the entrepreneur to buy back a 15% share for the original £100,000 in 12 months time.