Product Update
Is The Xtra Hand Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is The Xtra Hand from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy The Xtra Hand today.
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The Xtra Hand pitched a hands-free dust extraction tool that vacuum-fixes itself to almost any surface, and left the Den with an offer on the table. What happened next is more interesting than the pitch itself. If you are checking whether the product survived, the short answer is yes, but not quite through the route it pitched with.
The Short Answer
The Xtra Hand is still on the market. Rather than being sold directly by the small business that pitched it, the product is now distributed through Häfele UK, a major tools and fittings supplier, following an exclusive agreement struck after the Dragons' Den appearance.
So the product lives on, and it lives on with wider retail reach than a single founder-run website would likely have managed alone.
The Pitch
Carpenter and cabinet maker Alan Gillett brought The Xtra Hand to the Den in series 20, episode 11, in the Other category. The tool is a hands-free dust extraction attachment that fits onto a hose-mounted vacuum and sticks to almost any flat surface, wood, metal, plastic, concrete, brick, even ceilings, using suction power, and it works with a wide range of drill bits and hole saws that rival products cannot handle.
Gillett asked for £40,000 in exchange for 25 percent of the business.
The Deal
Peter Jones made an offer during the pitch. According to reporting on the episode, the two sides discussed terms around a £40,000 investment for a 25 percent stake, and the room's reaction to Gillett's story was described as genuinely moved.
Here is the part worth being straightforward about. Multiple reports on the outcome state that Gillett ultimately turned down the investment after filming wrapped, before the deal was formally closed, and chose instead to sign an exclusive distribution agreement with Häfele UK. That is a different ending to the more straightforward completed deals most Den pitches close with, and it is worth flagging as a point where the on-screen handshake and the eventual business outcome diverged.
What Happened After the Show
Häfele UK now sells The Xtra Hand as part of its own catalogue, giving the product access to trade and retail channels a single inventor would struggle to reach alone. Trade press coverage at the time framed the distribution deal as a bigger opportunity for the tool than a straightforward equity investment would have been, since it put the product directly in front of tradespeople and retailers already buying from Häfele.
For a niche trade tool, that kind of distribution partnership can matter more for long-term sales than a cash injection with strings attached, which appears to be the bet Gillett made.
It is a useful reminder for anyone using this site as a research tool that a Dragons' Den appearance is a single data point, not a guarantee of outcome either way. A rejected offer does not automatically mean a product failed, and a completed deal does not automatically mean it succeeded. What happens over the following months and years, in this case an exclusive tie-up with an established trade supplier, tends to matter far more.
Where Things Stand Now
The Xtra Hand pitched in series 20 out of the Other category, and discussed a deal around £40,000 for 25 percent with Peter Jones during filming. The available reporting indicates that agreement was not carried through after the episode aired, and the business instead moved forward through an exclusive distribution deal with Häfele UK.
The product itself is still available today through that distribution arrangement, so if you came here to check whether The Xtra Hand survived, it did, just not by the exact route the Den appearance suggested on the night.
Common Questions
Is The Xtra Hand still in business? The product is still sold, now through an exclusive distribution agreement with Häfele UK rather than direct from the small business that pitched it.
Did The Xtra Hand actually get a Dragons' Den deal? Peter Jones made an offer around £40,000 for 25 percent during filming, but multiple reports state founder Alan Gillett turned it down after the episode was recorded, before any investment formally closed.
Where can you buy The Xtra Hand now? Through Häfele UK, which took on exclusive distribution of the tool following the Dragons' Den appearance.
Where to buy The Xtra Hand
Still selling as of 20 June 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full The Xtra Hand deal breakdown and term sheet →
