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Ex-JFS student's Dragons' Den deal collapses

When the cameras were switched off, Jonny Plein and Ben Corrigan were unable to conclude the deal with the judges

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A former JFS pupil who appeared on Dragons’ Den has walked away from a lucrative deal with three of the business tycoons, the JC can reveal.

Jonny Plein, 26, became one of the most successful contestants ever to appear on the long-running series after his Pouch online shopping voucher business won offers from all five judges last week.

But while the televised episode showed Mr Plein and his business partner Ben Corrigan agreeing a deal with three of the Dragons - Touker Suleyman, Tej Lalvani and Jenny Campbell - in return for an 18 per cent share of the business and a £75,000 investment, when the cameras switched off they were unable to conclude the deal.

A source confirmed to the JC: “The Pouch boys wanted written contracts from the three Dragons confirming they would put in an agreed amount of time, and bring other brands into their business.

“There was only a two-hour window to do the deal – and in the end it was not concluded. The Pouch team decided to walk away without a deal as a result.”

Only two other businesses have won the approval of all five Dragons in the previous 14 series of the show.

Confirming the deal did not materialise Pouch issued a statement on Thursday stating: "Now the dust has started to settle, we can announce that post-Dragons’ Den filming, we were offered nearly triple the investment amount for an equity amount we felt much more comfortable with, putting Pouch at a deserved multi-million pound value.

"We're in a very strong position with some great investors, and can only thank the Dragons and the BBC for their time and interest."

This article has been amended to correct an error - we named Deborah Meaden as one of the investors. 

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