Theo Paphitis was born in Limassol, Cyprus in September 1959. His father and grandparents worked for British bases in Cyprus enabling them to emigrate to England as a family when Theo was six years old.

Theo started his career at the age of 16 as a tea boy and filing clerk with Lloyds of London insurance brokers before making his first foray into retail at the age of 18. At the age of 20 he moved into finance - property and corporate - specialising in turnarounds, setting up his own company at the age of 23.

Theo has rescued and revived the fortunes of a number of high street names including Ryman, La Senza Lingerie, Contessa Lingerie, Partners the Stationers and Stationery Box. The various stationery businesses were combined and launched as Ryman Stationery in 2008 and Theo is the Chairman and owner of the UK’s leading chain.
Theo spent eight years as Chairman of Millwall FC, taking it out of administration, into the Championship and to the FA Cup Final. He was also a Director of the Football League and an FA Councillor.

Mr Paphitis is also known for his appearances as a Dragon on the successful BBC TWO TV series Dragons' Den.  He has invested in many innovative businesses and brands, including iTeddy, created by Imran Hakim. A significant acquisition, in conjunction with fellow 'Dragon' Peter Jones, was the experience company, Red Letter Days.

Skillsmart – the government funded training organization – chose Theo as their champion for Retail Apprentices in February. In addition, Theo is giving his support to the first National Retail Academy that launches on April 29 2009.

This Spring, together with the 2,000-plus Ryman employees, Theo raised over £500,000 for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.

He published his life story in 2008 (Orion Books), called 'Enter The Dragon' and the paperback is published on April 30 2009. Theo lives in Surrey with his wife, Mrs 'P' and they have five children and three grandchildren.