Dragons' Den reject claims business could be worth £1bn

A Dragons' Den reject who stormed off the show in a temper says he has had the last laugh, after being offered £90 million for the company the Dragons didn't want.

Marco Hajikypri had valued his health food business, Professional Gains, at £2 million for the show, asking for £125,000 for a five per cent stake.

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The company supplies healthy ready meals, delivered direct to customers, and designed to offer a balance of protein, carbs, fat and vegetables.

Recipes include Italian chicken and sweet potato, salmon and brown rice or beef stew and kale. They cost an average of £4.90, and the company now sells 7,000 a week.

However, when meeting the 27-year-old, from Great Barr, Birmingham, the Dragons were less than impressed, as the video below shows.

"It's not trademarked is it? It is an examination and acceptance for a trademark application. Please don't look me in the eye and tell me you thought you had a trademark," commented judge Deborah Meaden.

She added: "This is like arguing with cotton wool."

Now, though, Hajikypri reckons he's got the last laugh, claiming that he's been offered a whacking £90 million for Professional Gains.

"It's not worth that yet, but the potential investor – Coventry multi-millionaire Jojar Singh Dhinsa – has the vision to see what I could be making in a few years' time. Unlike the dragons," he tells the Birmingham Mail.

"I have turned down the offer to sell the business, even at that huge figure, because I want to build it up myself. I think it's going to be worth a billion pounds."

It's not the first time that the dragons have rejected a business that then went on to make a fortune. Back in 2006, for example, businessman Rob Law was told by Peter Jones that "Your Trunki Ride-On Suitcase company is completely worthless."

Other notable successes include the pre-filled plastic glasses of wine found at station branches of M&S, Cup-a-Wine, and the Tangle Teezer rubber hairbrush.