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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Denise Evans & Nicole Wootton-Cane

Duo behind Blackpool attraction make dramatic decision on offer from Peter Jones during Dragon's Den appearance

The brains behind a popular Blackpool attraction left the Dragon's Den empty-handed following their appearance on the hit TV show - despite leaving Peter Jones 'spellbound'.

Phil Pinder and Ben Fry, founders of wizardry mini golf Hole In Wand, appeared on the hit BBC show hoping to secure a £200k investment in return for a 5 per cent share of their parent business, The Potions Cauldron.

The cash would go towards opening a third nine-hole course in Edinburgh, joining the original site in York and the attraction on Blackpool Promenade, which opened last summer. However, they unfortunately failed to secure the investment after turning down an offer from Peter Jones.

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The company also runs a magical elixir drinks apothecary and interactive experience and a wholesale shop.

Despite an impressive pitch, which saw them show-off train track-themed 'hole four' from the seaside resort's course, serving the Dragons flavoured potions and detailing their profits, four of the five Dragons rejected their deal.

The first to say "I'm out" was entrepreneur and public speaker Steven Bartlett because he "couldn't get excited" enough about the business to invest £200k. Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, who said she had "zero confidence" in the business and Touker Suleyman swiftly followed.

Hole In Wand - a wizard and witches-theme mini golf course (James Maloney/LancsLive)

But the concept peaked Peter Jones' interest and he offered the full £200k payment in return for a full third share of the business. Explaining his offer, Peter said: "When you first came in and two men in white coats with a puppet pretending it is real and a load of magic drinks, I thought 'this must be a joke'. But then I realised this could be something quite serious.

"I was spellbound. This is worth £1.3m. This is an investment that really does make sense."

But the considerable leap from a 5% share was too much for Phil and Ben. And despite a revised offer from Peter to lower his stake to 15% after a year and full repayment of his investment, the duo walked away.

Chief enchantment officer Ben was shown saying "I can't believe we just said no" to director of wizardry Phil, before the despondent pair returned to mixing potions, leaving Deborah attempting a hole in one.

You can watch the Potions Cauldron's appearance on series 20, episode 12 of the long-running show, which aired on March 23, on iPlayer.

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