Dragons Den

About Theo:

Theo ran the tuck shop at school, but the man famed for his one liners in the Den would rather pass a kidney stone than spend his life making tuppence on fudge cake.

Theo's career to date

Born in Cyprus, Theo came to England when he was six and was running the tuck shop at his north London school at 15. Starting out as tea boy at a City insurance broker, he found he had a flair for retail as a shop assistant at Watches of Switzerland.

Theo returned to the insurance industry in sales at 20, where he discovered his natural ability of pointing out the obvious and applying common sense (which is not common). In no time he was helping businesses in difficulty and this soon became a full time role.

Theo has turned stationers Ryman and Partners, and lingerie chains Contessa and La Senza into successful and profitable retail businesses.

He now heads up a 350 store chain, with a group turnover approaching £250m.

His latest ventures include Red Letter Days, the company he salvaged out of administration with fellow Dragon Peter Jones.

Theo spent eight years as Chairman of Milwall FC, taking it out of administration, into the Championship and as far as the EUFA cup, via an FA Cup Final.

In the Den Theo's childrens' inheritance is important to him - he has five children and two grandchildren, and lives with his wife in Surrey.