Sarah de Vere-Drummond, co-founder of Bristol-based boutique holiday company Kip Hideaways, has revealed she turned down a joint investment offer from Dragons' Den investors Gary Neville, Touker Suleyman, and Peter Jones after filming had concluded.
Offer and Turnover
She entered the Den seeking £90,000 for a five per cent stake in her business, which she described as a "curated Airbnb-style" platform. Despite facing questions about her company's valuation, she impressed the Dragons with her pitch.
Kip, established in 2019, offers self-catering stays at unusual luxury accommodation across the UK, from treehouses to beach retreats, charging property owners a 20 per cent commission. The business began as a membership platform and launched bookings through its site in April 2024.
The company turned over £293,000 in 2024, with a profit of £93,000, and last year turnover rose to £349,000. According to Sarah, the business is on track to turn over £700,000 in the current financial year.
Dragons' Reactions
During the pitch, Sarah told the Dragons: "Kip is a website that is filled with really special stays. We are passionate about finding little hidden gems around the UK."
Deborah Meaden questioned Sarah's claim of being a "curated Airbnb", asking her to name her main competitors offering high-end nature-style accommodation. Sarah cited Boutique Retreats and Cool Stays as rivals.
Meaden responded: "There are a lot of these, a lot, but there is clearly a lot of room for them. But you need to have an ability to express 'why you', and actually I am pretty impressed with your turnover so quickly, but you haven't offered a compelling reason why you when there are so many other booking sites." She later added: "I don't think it will grow big enough for me so I won't be investing and I'm out."
Steven Bartlett also declined to invest, saying Kip Hideaways didn't have "a strong enough USP", although he admitted the properties looked "incredible".
Offers and Withdrawal
Peter Jones asked Sarah about "the best" and "worst" things to happen in her life. She told him about being "a single mum to twin girls who are eight". Jones replied: "This is what I want. I want to hear the grit and the reality of the real Sarah."
Touker Suleyman made the first offer of half the money for 15 per cent of the business, and Gary Neville matched it. Neville said: "I know quite a lot about this industry because I own a boutique hotel and this is a bloody tough space to be in."
Jones then made the final offer, saying: "This is a brutally tough business and I wanted to see how deep-rooted the entrepreneur was who was standing in front of me and how resilient they are going to be. You are doing this for yourself obviously but you are doing this for your kids, your twins... you are going to go further than most will and I really like that. I would be willing to split it with the guys at 10 per cent. So you get three dragons at 30 per cent."
Sarah immediately accepted the offer from all three Dragons. But after filming, she decided not to go ahead with the investment.
Aftermath and Impact
She told Business Live it was "a difficult decision", and she had "huge respect" for all three Dragons but ultimately decided not to proceed after stepping into the role of chief executive and reviewing her firm's strategy.
"Giving away a stake in a business you’ve spent years building is a significant decision, and I wanted to be absolutely certain about what we would use the capital for and what it would help us achieve," she said. "I was delighted to receive three offers from Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones and Gary Neville. In the moment, I thought, rather than choose between them, why not see if I could bring all three on board? I was incredibly excited by the prospect of having that breadth of experience around the business."
Despite not taking the investment, she said Dragons' Den had "a profound impact" on her and Kip. "It gave me the confidence to step into the CEO role and really think about what I wanted the next chapter of the business to look like," she added.
