Product Update

Is Mode Al Still in Business? (2026 Update)

Is Mode Al from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy Mode Al today.

Dragons' Den IndexUpdated 1 April 20266 min read

Where to buy Mode Al

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Mode Al pitched in series 2 of Dragons' Den asking for 225,000 pounds for half the business, and it did land a deal on the night. What happened after the cameras stopped is more interesting than the pitch itself.

The short answer

Mode Al got its deal in the Den, but the founder chose not to take the Dragons' money in the end. The company is not currently selling under the Mode Al name.

The pitch

Mode Al appeared in series 2, episode 6, in the Home and Lifestyle category. Founder David Lees built the company around modular aluminium furniture designed to house technology, television units, edit suites and the like, built from the same aluminium extrusions used across the range. He asked the Dragons for 225,000 pounds in exchange for 50 percent of the business.

By the time he walked into the Den, Mode Al already had a real trading history behind it. Lees had formed the company back in 2001, and it was doing genuine commercial work rather than pitching a prototype.

What happened with the deal

Duncan Bannatyne and Theo Paphitis both offered to invest. That is where most Dragons' Den write-ups stop the story, but the more interesting part happened off camera. Lees has said publicly that the exposure from the show triggered a bidding war between banks eager to lend him money, and that his accountant persuaded him a bank loan was the better route rather than giving up equity to the Dragons.

So while Mode Al technically secured investment interest on air, the deal that shows up in most records as accepted did not necessarily convert into the Dragons actually owning a stake, at least not on the terms discussed in the Den. That is a different outcome to the simple 'got a deal' headline, and it matters if you are trying to work out what Mode Al looks like today.

Where the story goes after 2010

A 2010 trade piece described the aluminium furniture business as still thriving several years after the broadcast, doing bespoke work including edit desks with matching chairs in the same extrusion. That is the most recent dated account of the original business operating.

There is a company using a similar name that turns up in searches, based in Daventry and working in digital signage rather than furniture, which was acquired by another firm in 2019. It is a separate business from the one that made bespoke aluminium furniture.

Why bespoke manufacturers stay out of view

Series 2 aired in 2005, which puts Mode Al among the earliest pitches the show ever filmed, from a period when very little business press coverage followed up on Dragons' Den companies once the cameras moved on. Later series generated far more secondary reporting, follow-up interviews and anniversary retrospectives, none of which exist in any depth for this particular pitch.

Bespoke, made-to-order aluminium furniture is the kind of business that can survive quite happily without much of a public footprint. A company doing custom edit suites and technology housing for broadcasters and studios does not need a flashy consumer website or active social media to keep taking commissions.

Our verdict

The 2010 record shows a functioning business well after the Dragons' Den appearance, which is a genuinely good sign for longevity. Mode Al is not selling furniture under that name in 2026.

If you are trying to buy this specific product, the most useful next step is to search current company registers directly rather than relying on old Dragons' Den recaps.

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Where to buy Mode Al

Still selling as of 1 April 2026. Check today's price and availability.

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See the full Mode Al deal breakdown and term sheet →