Theo Paphitis

Early life

Born in Limassol, Cyprus, Paphitis is the second of three brothers; elder brother Marinos and younger brother George. They share two half-brothers. He came to England with his parents and Marinos when he was nine years old. He attended Ambler Primary School, Islington and Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, Manor House (closed in 1981) where he battled with dyslexia, but began his entrepreneurial activities by running the 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 when at 18 he worked 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 a large market share for NAG by negotiating concessionary positions in Ryman stationery stores.

When Ryman went bankrupt, Paphitis approached the administrators and bought the company. He turned it around by improving relations with suppliers, and enthusing the management team, cementing his reputation for turning failing companies into highly successful and profitable businesses. His ventures now include Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue. 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.

In 2008, Paphitis was one of several interested parties in bidding for failed retail chain Woolworths. However he later pulled out because of unrealistic numbers quoted by the administrators.

In March 2011, Paphitis set up a new lingerie chain, Boux Avenue which by the end of 2013 had grown to 21 stores in the UK with a further four internationally.

In July 2012, he bought the hardware retailer Robert Dyas. Paphitis said: "It is a business which fits well with my investment criteria."

Football

As chairman from 1997, Paphitis took Millwall out of administration and on to the 2004 FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium. He is perhaps best known for his work to reduce football hooliganism, and appointing as Millwall manager Dennis Wise, and together they guided the club to their first official appearance in the final of the FA Cup and into European football. After almost eight years at the helm of Millwall, Paphitis stepped down from his role as chairman in 2005.

Paphitis is a director and part-owner of Isthmian League side Walton & Hersham. Ryman Stationery sponsors the Isthmian League in a deal until the end of the 2015–16 season. Sponsorship of the Ryman League has been running for 19 years and is the longest current sponsorship deal in British football. Paphitis' other companies became sponsors of the League's cup competitions with Robert Dyas sponsoring cup tournaments. Boux Avenue became title sponsor of the Boux Avenue Women's Cup.

Television

After appearing on series four of the BBC Back to the Floor series while chairman at Millwall FC, Paphitis was approached to become one of the "dragons" in the second series of the BBC Two entrepreneurship series Dragons' Den in 2005 and left the programme after the 2012 season. Paphitis was known as a straight-talking but approachable and sincere 'dragon' who made many investments on the show, both alone and jointly with other dragon investors. In February 2013, he announced that he would be leaving the show.

In 2010, Paphitis had a three-part television series on BBC Two called Theo's Adventure Capitalists. The series followed British businesses looking to enter new markets in Brazil, India and Vietnam. The series was supported by the Open University.

In 2011, Paphitis presented the seven-part BBC Two series called Britain's Next Big Thing. The series examined the stories of artists, scientists, manufacturers and brand owners looking to sell their products and services to UK retailers including Boots and Liberty.

After time away from television to concentrate on business, Paphitis returned with appearances on BBC's Question Time and ITV's The Agenda. In March 2014, he appeared in Famous, Rich and Hungry, a two-part BBC documentary series which aimed to promote awareness of British people living in poverty, and raise money for Sport Relief.

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. He has said that "There are three reasons to be in business. To make money, to have fun – and to make money."

Paphitis has been criticised for some of his views on women. In 2008, he was quoted by Kira Cochrane of The Guardian newspaper as saying that although women may refuse to take maternity leave, "their brains turn to mush" after the pregnancy and "they take three months off".

Personal life

Paphitis lives with his wife Debbie (whom he refers to as Mrs. P on Dragons' Den) in Weybridge, Surrey. They have five children - two sons and three daughters, including twins and four grandchildren.

Paphitis is a keen fan of cars and of Formula One. His first car, like fellow 'dragon' Peter Jones, was an Alfa Romeo Alfasud, and he presently owns a chrome Maybach 62, Mercedes SL63 AMG and a Toyota Land Cruiser. His car collection has a series of personalised number plates, including RYM4N (on the Maybach). On 13 June 2017, the burglar who stole Paphitis' Land Rover received a jail sentence of two-and-a-half years.