Going into the Dragons’ Den… for a share of Camp Wildfire

BY TOBY PORTER
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

It was either the bravest move ever on Dragons’ Den – or the biggest mistake.

Brixton’s Julia Lowe and Camberwell’s Lee Denny had an offer from Deborah Meaden in the bag for a share in their business Camp Wildfire.

But they didn’t want to hand over a quarter of the value of the firm to her in exchange for her expertise in maximizing profits.

When they offered her less, though, she withdrew her offer – the first time it has been done in the history of the 16-year-old programme. “[After your] counter-offer, I nearly fell off my chair,” she glared back.

So now they will look to go it alone – with tons of free publicity for their hard-nosed approach to business.

Lee Denny, of Grove Lane, Camberwell, met Julia, now in Leander Road, Brixton, when he held a party in his garden.

He staged “LeeFest”, aged 16, for his friends – and a band, Keston Cobblers Club, were asked to play that night.

One of its members was Julia and their friendship, which started that day, spawned the idea of a summer holiday camp for adults.

They formed a company Camp Wildfire – and last week tried to sell the concept and the company to the vipers of the hit cut-throat BBC entrepreneurs’ face-off contest – dressed in suitable scout-style garb.

Lee and Julia grew up near each other in Bromley. And it was in that borough that they met at LeeFest, in Monks Orchard Road in Beckenham – she was living nearby in Barnet Drive at the time.

Adventure by day, party by night, Camp Wildfire, created in 2015, takes place over two weekends each year in a forest in the Weald of Kent.

In the daytime, it is a summer camp where attendees participate in a selection of 100 adventure activities, incorporating everything from quad biking, flying trapeze and tree climbing.
There is also Nerf wars, beekeeping, campfire bread baking and riding in a hot air balloon.

By night, the forest transforms into a festival where revellers can dance until the early hours to a diverse music programme, find secret late-night parties and cosy up around campfires.

Previous headliners have included Grandmaster Flash, Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon, Slamboree, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy and Savage Disco. And there is a family-friendly version, Camp Kindling.

Lee and Julia said: “We created Camp Wildfire as a solution to the ever-growing request from adults to do more with their weekend than a contemporary music festival can offer.

We’re enormously proud of what we’ve achieved so far.

“We had an incredible experience in the Den and are really grateful to have had the opportunity to pitch Camp Wildfire to the Dragons.

“Although we were disappointed when Deborah withdrew her offer, we are enormously proud of everything we’ve achieved and felt we couldn’t sacrifice 25 per cent of what we had worked so hard to build for £75,000.

“Last summer, more than half of UK festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic. Despite the odds, less than eight weeks after filming, we put on three sold-out events.

This year, we’re on track to continue our growth and sell out four events, turning over upwards of £2.75 million.

“Much more importantly, we’ve been able to provide much-needed joy and connection at a time when people have needed it most.

“The Dragons are always welcome at Camp Wildfire.”

Pictured: Lee Denny and Julia Lowe on Dragon’s Den. Inset, Deborah Weasden