Born in Limassol – Cyprus,  Theo’s parents emigrated to England when he was six years old.  He went to comprehensive school in North London which failed to diagnose his dyslexia but allowed him to establish and run the school tuck shop at the age of 15.  Having secured his first full-time job as the tea boy/filing clerk at a traditional Lloyds insurance broker in the city, he quickly realised that his North London accent and schooling did not bode well for career progression.

He doubled his salary by becoming a shop assistant at Watches of Switzerland where he found his passion for retail.  With ambition snapping at his heels and a wife and child to support at the tender age of 18, he returned back to the insurance and finance industry at the age of 20 in a sales capacity.  Here he discovered his natural ability of pointing out the obvious and applying common sense.  This he translated into helping businesses in difficulty which he eventually made into a full time role for himself as principle.

He has successfully turned Ryman, Contessa, La Senza and Partners the Stationers into successful, solid and profitable retail businesses.  Theo now heads up a 350 store chain and a group turnover approaching £250m.  Theo’s latest ventures includes Red Letter Days, the company he salvaged out of administration with fellow Dragon’s Den colleague, Peter Jones  and the purchase of Stationery Box.

 Theo is married to Debbie, has five children and lives in Surrey.