Theo Paphitis (born 24 September 1959) is an
entrepreneur of
Greek Cypriot origin.
He made his fortune in the retail sector, and is best known to the
general public for his appearances on the BBC business programme
Dragons' Den.
In the
Sunday Times Rich
List 2008, he was ranked 581st although his estimated worth had
increased to £135 million since 2007. This figure is conservative
when taking into account the £100 million he gained from the sale
of La Senza. Paphitis saw his wealth rise further in April 2009 to
an estimated £165 million.
Biography
Born in
Limassol
, Cyprus
, Paphitis
came to England
with his
parents and brother, Marinos, when he was six years old.
He went to
attend the local comprehensive
school in North
London
where they failed to detect his dyslexia, but began his entrepreneurial activities
by running his school tuckshop, at the age
of 15.
Business career
Paphitis
took a job as a tea boy and filing clerk at a City of London
insurance
broker. Wanting more money, he discovered his passion
for retailing and sales, working as a sales assistant for Watches of Switzerland in Bond Street
.
Aged 21, he joined
Legal &
General selling commercial mortgages, which taught him to read
other businesses'
balance
sheets:
Aged 23, he set up a property finance company with close friend and
business associate Mark Moran, and kept going when the friend left
in partnership with
Hanover Druce,
making his first money on the rise of the 1980s commercial property
markets. Spotting the rise in
mobile
telephones, he bought into NAG Telecom, becoming chairman
alongside fellow director
Tony
Kleanthous (now chairman of
Barnet
FC). Paphitis gained massive market share for NAG by
negotiating concessionary positions in
Ryman
stationery stores.
When Ryman went into
receivership, Paphitis
approached the accountants and bought the company. He turned it
around by paying suppliers, and enthusing the management team and
store managers, cementing his reputation for turning failing
companies into highly successful and profitable businesses. His
ventures now include Ryman,
Contessa, and Partners. He co-owns
Red Letter Days with fellow
Dragons' Den businessman
Peter Jones. In 2006, he
sold his equity stake in the UK and EU segment of the global
lingerie brand,
La Senza, for a reported
£100m.
At the end of 2008 Paphitis was one of several interested parties
in bidding for failed retail chain
Woolworths. However he later pulled
out.
Football
As
chairman, Paphitis took Millwall out
of administration, saw their first ever official appearance at
Millennium
Stadium
, and saw the Lions win promotion to Division One as
champions. He is perhaps best known for his work to reduce
football
hooliganism, and appointing
Dennis Wise as Millwall manager, who
guided the club to their first official appearance in the
FA Cup Final in 2004. Paphitis left Millwall on
21 July, 2006 and was succeeded as Chairman by
Peter de Savary.
Paphitis holds a large percentage of
Isthmian League side
Walton & Hersham.
Television
After appearing on series four of the
BBC
Back to the
Floor series while chairman at Millwall FC, and selling
his stake a year later, Paphitis was approached to become one of
the "dragons" in the second series of the
BBC
Two entrepreneurship series
Dragons' Den in 2005 and has
continued to appear in the show, which is now in its seventh series
(2009).
Business philosophy
Paphitis attributes his success to his natural common sense, and
his favourite motto is a famous business school motto:
KISS:
Keep It Simple Stupid. His view on business is:
Personal life
Theo lives
with his wife Debbie in Weybridge, Surrey
, to whom he refers as Mrs. P on Dragons'
Den. They have five children – 2 sons and 3 daughters – and
2 grandchildren.
Known to be something of a "petrol-head", his first car, like
fellow "dragon" Peter Jones, was an
Alfa Romeo Alfasud, and he presently owns
a gun metal grey
Maybach 62, Mercedes
SL63 AMG and a Toyota Land Cruiser. His car collection have a
series of
personalised number
plates, including T1HEO and RYM4N (on the Maybach).
When
interviewed on the BBC show Top Gear in July 2008 he set a
time of 1:48.5 around the Top Gear Test Track
in the Star in a
Reasonably-Priced Car segment. Jeremy Clarkson named Theo as "Theo
Pamphlet" on the leaderboard.
Theo's brother, Marinos, is currently the Director for the South
Eastern region of the Learning & Skills Council.
In an article for UK based newspaper
the
Guardian, journalist
Kira Cochrane
reported Paphitis making remarks that have been interpreted by some
as disparaging women in the workforce.
He is also a supporter and member of the
Liberal Democrat party.
References
External links
Wikis
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