UK Waterless Car Wash Eco-Friendly Services, Car Valeting and Franchise Opportunities - Aquanought.

Dragons Den Waterless Car Wash

Our Journey

Aquanoughts “Dragons Den” journey first started when Shakil and I were reviewing a car wash site in Peterborough for our unique waterless cleaning operation.

After spending a pleasant day discussing the fantastic potential of this site, I had an e-mail through to my phone from the BBC asking if we would like to audition for Dragons Den.

To begin with, we weren’t too keen. Our business was growing steadily and we had new sites being offered to us every day. We didn’t need the Dragons…..or so we thought.

However, after thinking the opportunity over we decided to contact the BBC in Manchester and go for the audition, basically to see how we would get on.

I think we were the first company to carry the bonnet of a BMW through the BBC studios as a demonstration piece and it seemed to attract a lot of attention. We pitched to camera and nailed it first time. Shakil had a great pitch ready and as usual, I kept quiet and did the demonstration.

Later that week we were told that we had been successful and we would go on to film at the main Dragons Den studios in just over a weeks time. After completing all the paperwork we were ready to go!

The morning of the day went well. We arrived early with all our demonstration materials (including a second-hand door from a scrap yard) and spent the time filming certain broadband scenes and mingling with the other “entrepreneurs.”

We really wanted to be the first in, to get it out of the way. Unfortunately we were the last to be filmed on the day and as such we were beginning to get a little nervous by the time were asked to present.

It’s a strange and surreal experience walking up the steps and seeing the Dragons for the first time. We just went for it and spent a long time filming the pitch. Theo seemed to like us, as did Duncan, but Peter and James looked less impressed. Deborah was great with us and gave us a good opportunity to fight for the investment.

OK, we may have asked for too much and we may have sounded ambitious, however we have franchise requests all day every day for our waterless car wash businesses from as far a-field as Columbia and Singapore. We thought that they would jump at the chance.

They didn’t and we left the Den empty handed. It was an opportunity missed (for both parties).

We now have a fantastic supply chain for all of our car wash products in the UK and a strong relationship with many overseas franchise operators who are looking to add Aquanought to their main business systems.

But the story doesn’t finish there. After the Den we were approached by another investor to marry our system together with his current car wash operations to become the largest independent car wash and valeting business in the UK with over 100 franchisees and the scope to open over 100 new sites in the very near future.

Shakil and I now sit as Directors of the new business and work together on taking this fantastic operation to the next level. We have an amazing team at our Head Office dedicated to the success and support of our current and future franchisees.

We also have 3 new training academies in key locations around the country, necessary for our ongoing growth and success.

The Dragons spoke a lot of sense in the Den and made us realise the need to surround ourselves with the best people and a sound financial structure. We appreciate their comments and especially Theos kind words.

Thank you to all the Team at the BBC who worked hard to keep us entertained on our Day with the Dragons and Thank You to the Dragons for taking it relatively easy on us in the Den!

Please contact Aquanought on 0207 822 1859 for franchise opportunities or product information where a member of the Aquanought team will be happy to help.