A joint-stock company (JSC) is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company. Certificates of ownership ("shares") are issued by the company in return for each financial contribution, and the shareholders are free to transfer their ownership interest at any time by selling their shareholding to others.

In modern company law the existence of a joint-stock company is often synonymous with incorporation (i.e. possession of legal personality separate from shareholders) and limited liability (meaning that the shareholders are only liable for the company's debts to the value of the money they invested in the company). And as a consequence joint-stock companies are commonly known as corporations or limited companies.

Some jurisdictions still provide the possibility of registering joint-stock companies without limited liability. In the United Kingdom and other countries which have adopted their model of company law, these are known as unlimited companies. In the United States they are, somewhat confusingly known as ''joint-stock companies''.

Advantages

Ownership of stock confers a large number of privileges. The company is managed on behalf of the shareholders by a Board of Directors, elected at an Annual General Meeting. The shareholders also vote to accept or reject an Annual Report and audited set of accounts. Individual shareholders can sometimes stand for directorships within the company, should a vacancy occur, but this is uncommon.

The shareholders are usually liable for any company debts that exceed the company's ability to pay. However, the limit of their liability only extends to the face value of their shareholding. This concept of limited liability largely accounts for the success of this form of business organization.

Ordinary shares entitle the owner to a share in the company's net profit. This is calculated in the following way: the net profit is divided by the total number of owned shares, producing a notional value per share, known as a dividend. The individual's share of the profit is thus the dividend multiplied by the number of shares that they own.

Early joint-stock companies

Finding the earliest joint-stock company is a matter of definition. Around 1250 in France at Toulouse, 96 shares of the ''Société des Moulins du Bazacle'', or Bazacle Milling Company were traded at a value that depended on the profitability of the mills the society owned. The Swedish company Stora has documented a stock transfer for 1/8 of the company (or more specifically, the mountain in which the copper resource was available) as early as 1288.

In more recent history, the English were first with joint-stock companies. The earliest recognized company was the English (later British) East India Company, one of the most famous joint-stock companies. It was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intention of favouring trade privileges in India. The Royal Charter effectively gave the newly created ''Honourable East India Company'' (HEIC) a 15-year monopoly on all trade in the East Indies. The Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one that virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, until its dissolution. 250px|right|thumb|The East India Company's flag initially had the flag of England, St. George's Cross, in the corner. Soon afterwards, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued shares, that were made tradeable on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. An invention that enhanced the ability of joint-stock companies to attract capital from investors as they now easily could dispose their shares.

During the period of colonialism, Europeans, initially the British, trading with the Near East for goods, pepper and calico for example, enjoyed spreading the risk of trade over multiple sea voyages. The joint-stock company became a more viable financial structure than previous guilds or state-regulated companies. The first joint-stock companies to be implemented in the Americas were The Virginia Company and The Plymouth Company.

Transferable shares often earned positive returns on equity, which is evidenced by investment in companies like the British East India Company, which used the financing model to manage trade in India. Joint-stock companies paid out divisions, dividends, to their shareholders by dividing up the profits of the voyage in the proportion of shares held. Divisions were usually cash, but when working capital was low and it was detrimental to the survival of the company, divisions were either postponed or paid out in remaining cargo which could be sold by shareholders for profit.

However, in general, incorporation was only possible by Royal charter or private act, and was limited owing to the government's jealous protection of the privileges and advantages thereby granted.

As a result of the rapid expansion of capital intensive enterprises in the course of the industrial revolution in Britain, many businesses came to be operated as unincorporated associations or extended partnerships, with large numbers of members. Nevertheless, membership of such associations was usually short term, so their nature was constantly changing.

Consequently, registration and incorporation of companies without specific legislation was introduced by the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844. Initially companies incorporated under this Act did not have limited liability, although it became common for companies to include a limited liability clause in their internal rules. In the case of Hallett v Dowdall the English Court of the Exchequer held that such clauses bound people who have notice of them. Four years later the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 provided for limited liability for all joint-stock companies provided, amongst other things, that they include the word "limited" in their company name. The landmark case of Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd established that a limited liability company had a distinct legal personality, separate from that of its individual shareholders.

Joint-stock companies globally

The principles of a joint-stock company are used to organize many contemporary corporate entities, such as the American business corporation, the British public limited company, the French ''société par actions'', the Russian Акционерное общество (AO), the German Aktiengesellschaft (AG), the Swedish Aktiebolag (AB), the Italian ''Società per Azioni'' (S.p.A.), the Spanish Sociedad Anónima (S.A.), the Dutch Naamloze Vennootschap (NV), the Turkish Anonim Şirketi (A.Ş.), the Polish Spółka Akcyjna (SA), the Japanese kabushiki kaisha (株式会社),and the South Korean jusik hoesa (주식 회사).raj

See also

Aktieselskab

Limited liability company

Legal entities

Economy of Russia

Types of companies

References

Further reading

External links

The History of the Corporate Business Firm

Category:Legal entities Category:Types of business entity

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Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Imelda May
background	solo_singer
birth name	Imelda Mary Clabby
birth date	July 10, 1974
origin	Dublin, Ireland
spouse	Darrell Higham (2002-present)
instrument	Vocals, bodhrán, guitar
genre	Rockabilly, blues, jazz
occupation	Singer, songwriter-composer
years active	2003–present
label	Foot Tapping, Ambassador (Universal Ireland)), Decca
website	}}

Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby (born 10 July 1974), known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 16 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar. She won the Best Female Artist of the Year award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.

Early life and career

May was born in Dublin on 10 July 1974 in an area known as The Liberties. She is the youngest of five siblings, with sisters Edel Foy and Maria O'Reilly, and brothers Brendan Clabby and Fintan Clabby. Her early musical influences were Folk and Rock & Roll, especially the music of Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. By the age of nine, she was a fan of Rockabilly and Blues, particularly Elmore James and Billie Holiday. At fourteen, she sang in an advertisement for Findus Fish Fingers. However, her career began at age 16 when she began touring the Dublin club circuit and she was occasionally barred from her own shows at Dublin's Bruxelles club for being underage. "I was getting tips from the best musicians in Dublin," May said. "One of them said, 'your voice is great, but it needs to roughen.'" It was around this time, when driving a tearful Imelda to a gig after a boyfriend break-up her father asked her, "Is your heart broken? Excellent. Now you can sing the blues." After moving to the UK in 1998, May began singing with Blue Harlem and Mike Sanchez.

Professional career

May began her professional career in 2003, forming her band and releasing ''No Turning Back'' (Foot Tapping Records) under her maiden name, Imelda Clabby. Specializing in rockabilly music, the album was later re-recorded and re-issued by Foot Tapping Records under her married name in 2005.

In 2007, she joined a recording contract with Ambassador Records (a subsidiary of Foot Tapping Records), and recorded her second album. ''Love Tattoo'' reached No. 1 in Ireland and received wide critical acclaim. It caught the attention of Jools Holland, whom she later supported on tour, which led him to request that she appear on his well-known music show ''Later... with Jools Holland''. She was well received in the United Kingdom, performing to an audience that included Jeff Beck, Elbow, and Roots Manuva. Her first two singles, ''Johnny Got a Boom-Boom'' and ''Big Bad Handsome Man'', were released on 23 January 2009. She performed on Ireland's most popular television show, ''The Late Late Show''. She won Female Artist of the Year at the 2009 Meteor Awards. May has also toured the United States including, most recently, a tour with Jamie Cullum. On 14 August 2009, she appeared on RTÉ's ''Other Voices'' singing ''Johnny Got a Boom Boom'' and an unplugged version of ''Big Bad Handsome Man.'' thumb|250px|May at the Azkena Rock Festival, Spain, 2010 }}

On 31 January 2010, she performed at the 52nd Grammy Awards with Jeff Beck in tribute to Les Paul. After some promotional performances at festivals, such as the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, Netherlands, she released her third studio album, ''Mayhem'', in Ireland on September 3, 2010 — again reaching No. 1 in the Irish Album Charts — and in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2010. On July 18, 2011, May made her network television debut on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', performing "Mayhem," in promotion of the album's recent release in the U.S. and later appeared on ''Conan'' on August 8.

Imelda May has recently contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "I'm Looking For Someone To Love" for the upcoming tribute album, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly to be released on September 6, 2011.

Performances with other artists

May has shared the stage with Wanda Jackson, Alison Moyet, Lou Reed, David Gilmore, Sharon Corr, The Supremes, Brian Setzer, The Dubliners, Madeleine Peyroux, Matt Bianco, Elvis Costello, Jools Holland, Jeff Beck and Meat Loaf . She has worked with producers Tony Visconti and Peter Asher. She also sings in The Candy Box Burlesque Club in Birmingham. She has appeared alongside The World Famous Palookaville! Burlesque Orchestra at every Candy Box show since it started in February 2006.

May has sung for the Flashmonkey burlesque band, a popular night at Cafe De Paris in London, also featuring trumpeter/composer Eacott.

In 2009, she recorded the official Children In Need single alongside Cara Dillon, Terry Wogan, Hayley Westenra, and others at Abbey Road Studios. In 2010, she participated on ''Emotion & Commotion'' by Jeff Beck, singing on the track ''Lilac Wine'' and also on the Japanese CD bonus track ''Poor Boy.'' On 11 November 2010, she appeared as a guest on BBC2's comedy panel music show, ''Never Mind The Buzzcocks''.

In 2010, she performed with Meat Loaf as part of the UK leg of his Hang Cool Tour. During 2011, she and her band toured with Jeff Beck.

In August 2011 she performed on Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and the Craig Ferguson show

Personal life

May is married to her guitarist and band member, Darrel Higham. She is a vegetarian.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
2005		* Released: 2002 as Imelda Clabby, re-released in 2005 as Imelda May.	* Label: Foot Tapping Records	* Formats: CD	—	—
2008		* Released: October 20, 2008	Universal Records>Universal	* Formats: CD, Download	1	58
2010	style="text-align:left;"	* Released: October 4, 2010	* Label: Universal	* Formats: CD, Download	1	7

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
!style="width:4em"	!style="width:4em"
	"Johnny Got a Boom Boom"
"Big Bad Handsome Man"
	style="text-align:left;"

Band members

Imelda May – vocals, bodhrán

Al Gare – double bass, bass guitar

Steve Rushton – drums

Darrel Higham – guitar

Dave Priseman – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion, guitar

Awards and nominations

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Organisation	Nominated work	Award	Result
	2009 Meteor Awards		Imelda May	Best Irish Female
	RTÉ Radio 1	rowspan="2"	Album of the Year
	Choice Music Prize	Choice Music Prize

References

External links

Imelda May Album Review

No Turning Back (Imelda Clabby) Review

Blue Harlem (featuring Imelda May) Reviews

Music On-Air Interview

Liberation Frequency interview

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Irish female singers Category:Irish jazz singers Category:Music from Dublin (city) Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Irish musicians Category:Rockabilly musicians

de:Imelda May es:Imelda May fr:Imelda May pt:Imelda May ru:Имельда Мэй

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
Group	British American
Poptime	40,234,652 (2009) 13.0% of the total U.S. population.Other estimates: 72,065,000 23.3% of the total U.S. population
Popplace	The U.S. South, Northeast, West
Langs	American English
Rels	Christian Mainly Protestant (especially Baptist, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Quaker) and to a lesser extent Catholic
Related	Australian AmericansBritonsCornish AmericansCanadian AmericanEnglish AmericansScottish AmericansScots-Irish AmericansWelsh AmericansIrish Americans }}

British Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). The term is seldom used by people to refer to themselves (1,172,050 chose it in the 2009 American Community Survey) and is used primarily as a demographic or historical research term. In the modern age, it can refer to British people who live and work in the United States (some of whom become American citizens), and Americans who do the same in the United Kingdom.

According to American Community Survey in 2009 data, Americans reporting British ancestry made up an estimated (40,234,652) or 13.0% of the total U.S. population, and form the second largest European ancestry group after German Americans. This is an approx 35% drop from the population figures derived from the 1980 United States Census.

However, demographers regard this as an undercount as the index of inconsistency is high, and many, if not most, people from English stock have a tendency to identify simply as Americans or, if of mixed European ancestry, nominate a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. Consequently, most white Americans have at least some British ancestry , including many who identify primarily with other ethnic groups (such as Irish, German, Scandinavian, Italian, and so forth).

In the 1980 United States Census, over 61 million (61,311,449) Americans claimed British ancestry, at the time around 32.56% of the total population and largest reported group which, even today , would make them the largest ethnic group in the United States. This outnumbered the population of Great Britain at the time.

Number of British Americans

1790 Census

The United States Census of 1790 was the first census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 2, 1790. The ancestry of the 3,929,214 population in 1790 has been estimated by various sources by sampling last names in the very first United States official census and assigning them a country of origin. The estimate results indicate that people of British ancestry made up about 62% of the total population or 74.3% of the European American population. Some 80.7% of the total United States population was of European heritage. Around 757,208 were of African descent with 697,624 being slaves. Of the remaining population, more than 75% was of British origin.

1980 Census

The Twentieth 1980 United States Census, 61.3 million (61,311,449) Americans reported British ancestry. The total U.S population in 1980 was 226,545,805 and was the first census-form that asked peoples ancestry.

These include: In 1980, the total census reported that British ancestry was (32.56%) of the total U.S population. Triple ancestry response:''English-Irish-Scotch'': 897,316 There are no concrete figures for the Scots-Irish and some group responses were under-counted, but in 1980, 29,828,349 people claimed Irish and another ethnic ancestry. These figures make British Americans the largest "ethnic" group in the U.S. and would have naturally increased in population with more people of British origin than in 1980. This is true when counted collectively (the Census Bureau does give the choice to count them collectively as one ancestry, and also count them in a separate ethnic group, that is English, Scottish, Welsh or Scots-Irish). In 2000, Germans and Irish were the largest self-reported ethnic groups in the nation.

1990 Census

The Twenty-first 1990 United States Census.

2000 Census

The Twenty-Second 2000 United States Census, 36.4 million Americans reported British ancestry.

Most of the population who stated their ancestry as "American" are said to be of old colonial British stock.

American ethnicity 20,625,093 (7.3%)

{|class="sort wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" |- !Ancestry||1980||% of U.S||1990||% of U.S||2000||% of U.S |- |English |49,598,035 |26.34% |32,651,788 |13.1% |24,515,138 |8.7% |- |Scottish |10,048,816 |5.34% |5,393,581 |2.2% |4,890,581 |1.7% |- |Scots-Irish |no data |no data |5,617,773 |2.3% |4,319,232 |1.5% |- |Welsh |1,664,598 |0.88% |2,033,893 |0.8% |1,753,794 |0.6% |- |British |no data |no data |no data |no data |1,085,720 |0.4% |- |American |no data |no data |12,395,999 |5.0% |20,625,093 |7.3% |}

Distribution

Following are the top 10 highest percentages of people of English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry, in U.S. communities with 500 or more total inhabitants (for the total list of the 101 communities, see the reference):

English # Hildale, UT 66.9% # Colorado City, AZ 52.7% # Milbridge, ME 41.1% # Panguitch, UT 40.0% # Beaver, UT 39.8% # Enterprise, UT 39.4% # East Machias, ME 39.1% # Marriott-Slaterville, UT 38.2% # Wellsville, UT 37.9% # Morgan, UT 37.2%

Scottish #Lonaconing, MD town 16.1% #Jordan, IL township 12.6% #Scioto, OH township 12.1% #Randolph, IN township 10.2% #Franconia, NH town 10.1% #Topsham, VT town 10.0% #Ryegate, VT town 9.9% #Plainfield, VT town 9.8% #Saratoga Springs, UT town 9.7% #Barnet, VT town 9.5%

Welsh #Malad City, ID city 21.1 #Remsen, NY town 14.6 #Oak Hill, OH village 13.6 #Madison, OH township 12.7 #Steuben, NY town 10.9 #Franklin, OH township 10.5 #Plymouth, PA borough 10.3 #Jackson, OH city 10.0 #Lake, PA township 9.9 #Radnor, OH township 9.8

History

Early British emigration

The British diaspora consists of the scattering of British people and their descendants who emigrated from the United Kingdom. The diaspora is concentrated in countries that had mass migration such as the United States and that are part of the Anglosphere. A 2006 publication from the Institute for Public Policy Research estimated 5.6 million British-born people lived outside of the United Kingdom.

After the Age of Discovery the British were one of the earliest and largest communities to emigrate out of Europe, and the British Empire's expansion during the first half of the 19th century saw an "extraordinary dispersion of the British people", with particular concentrations "in Australasia and North America".

The British Empire was "built on waves of migration overseas by British people", who left the United Kingdom and "reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents". As a result of the British colonization of the Americas, what became the United States was "easily the greatest single destination of emigrant British".

Historically in the 1790 United States Census estimate and presently in Australia, Canada and New Zealand "people of British origin came to constitute the majority of the population" contributing to these states becoming integral to the Anglosphere.

Settlement and colonization

An English presence in North America began with the Roanoke Colony and Colony of Virginia in the late-16th century, but the first successful English settlement was established in 1607, on the James River at Jamestown. By the 1610s an estimated 1,300 English people had travelled to North America, the "first of many millions from the British Isles". In 1620 the Pilgrims established the English imperial venture of Plymouth Colony, beginning "a remarkable acceleration of permanent emigration from England" with over 60% of trans-Atlantic English migrants settling in the New England Colonies. During the 17th century an estimated 350,000 English and Welsh migrants arrived in North America, which in the century after the Acts of Union 1707 was surpassed in rate and number by Scottish and Irish migrants.

The British policy of salutary neglect for its North American colonies intended to minimize trade restrictions as a way of ensuring they stayed loyal to British interests. This permitted the development of the American Dream, a cultural spirit distinct from that of its European founders. The Thirteen Colonies of British America began an armed rebellion against British rule in 1775 when they rejected the right of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation; they proclaimed their independence in 1776, and subsequently constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a sovereign state in 1781 with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States' sovereignty at the end of the American Revolutionary War.

Today

Nevertheless, longstanding cultural and historical ties have, in more modern times, resulted in the Special Relationship, a term used to describe the exceptionally close political, diplomatic and military co-operation of United Kingdom – United States relations. Linda Colley, a professor of history at Princeton University and specialist in Britishness, suggested that because of their colonial influence on the United States, the British find Americans a "mysterious and paradoxical people, physically distant but culturally close, engagingly similar yet irritatingly different".

Identity

British Americans have Cornish, English, Scottish, Ulster Scots, and/or Welsh family heritages, or came from Canada where their ancestors were of British descent, and are those Americans who were British born. Catholic Irish-Americans are not usually categorized as having British ancestry; they do not usually consider themselves as being British Americans. Immigrants from Canada of British ancestry tend to call themselves Canadian Americans. Similarly, most British Americans tend to differentiate to being specifically Cornish, English, Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh or ethnic minorities (e.g. Pakistani Scottish) and do not identify with the UK as a whole, therefore tending ''not'' to refer to themselves as British American ''(see: Cornish American, English American, Scottish American, Welsh American, or Scots-Irish American)'' and settlers of British heritage from other former British territories like Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa also consider themselves by their nationalities, Australian Americans, New Zealand Americans, South African-Americans, like those with British citizenship would identify themselves as British-American, when actually they are African-British.

1790 - 2000 Census

In the 1790 United States Census, people of British origin constituted the majority with 62.5% of the United States population. {|class="sort wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" style="float:left; |- !colspan=3| 1790 U.S AncestryBased on Evaluated census figures !colspan=3| 2000 U.S Ancestryfrom the official U.S census ||100||Scotch-Irish||4,319,232||1.5 |----- |}

American cultural icons

The Grand Union Flag is considered to be the first national flag of the United States . This flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes with the British Union Flag of the time (prior to the inclusion of St. Patrick's cross of Ireland) in the canton.

The flag was first flown on December 2, 1775 by John Paul Jones (then a Continental Navy lieutenant) on the ship ''Alfred'' in Philadelphia). The ''Alfred'' flag has been credited to Margaret Manny. It was used by the American Continental forces as a naval ensign and garrison flag in 1776 and early 1777. It is widely believed that the flag was raised by George Washington's army on New Year's Day 1776 at Prospect Hill in Charlestown (now part of Somerville), near his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and that the flag was interpreted by British observers as a sign of surrender. Some scholars dispute this traditional account, concluding that the flag raised at Prospect Hill was likely a British union flag.

British place names in the United States

There are many places in the United States named after places in Great Britain as a result of the many British settlers and explorers. These include New York (after the Duke of York), New Hampshire (after Hampshire), Manchester, Boston, Birmingham, Southampton, Gloucester and the region of New England. In addition, some places were named after the English royal family. The name Virginia was first applied by Queen Elizabeth I (the "Virgin Queen") and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584., the Carolinas were named after King Charles I and Maryland named so for his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary).

See also

European American

Hyphenated American

List of English Americans

List of Scots-Irish Americans

List of Scottish Americans

List of Welsh Americans

Anglo-Celtic Australian

References

References

Scholarly sources

Oscar Handlin, Ann Orlov and Stephan Thernstrom eds. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) the standard reference source for all ethnic groups.

Rowland Tappan Berthoff. ''British Immigrants in Industrial America, 1790-1950'' (1953).

David Hackett Fischer. ''Albion's Seed, Four British Folkways In America'' (1989).

External links

1980 U.S Census ancestry lists

2000 Census Bureau ancestry figures

* Category:Ethnic groups in the United States

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Theo Paphitis
birth date	September 24, 1959
birth place	Limassol, Cyprus
occupation	Owner of Ryman and other retailers
networth	£210 million
known for	Dragons' Den
spouse	Debbie Paphitis
website	Official website
children	5 }}

Theodorus "Theo" Paphitis () (born 24 September 1959) is a British entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin. He made the majority of his fortune in the retail sector, and is best known to the general public for his appearances on the BBC business programme ''Dragons' Den'' and as former chairman of Millwall Football Club.

In the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, he was ranked 581st although his estimated worth had increased to £135 million since 2007. The newspaper reported a rise in his wealth, in April 2009, to an estimated £165 million. The figures, as reported in The Sunday Times, are conservative when taking into account the £100 million he gained from the sale of La Senza.

Biography

Born in Limassol, Cyprus, Paphitis is the second oldest of five brothers, Marinos, George, Christos and Xanthos. He came to England with his parents and brother Marinos when he was nine years old. He attended the local comprehensive school in North London where he battled with 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 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, 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 because of unrealistic numbers quoted by the administrators

Football

As chairman, Paphitis took Millwall out of administration, took the team to Wembley Stadium, 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 as Millwall manager Dennis Wise, 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 eight series (2010). Paphitis is known as a straight-talking but approachable and sincere 'dragon' who has made many investments on the show, both alone and as a '50/50' with another dragon invester.

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:

Paphitis has also been severely criticised for his misogynistic and anti-feminist views. On the issue of female equality in the work place he has been quoted by Kira Cochrane of the Guardian newspaper as having said: "All this feminist stuff," he said, "are we seriously saying that 50% of all jobs should go to women?" Paphitis went on to note that women "get themselves bloody pregnant and ... they always argue that they'll be working until the day before, have the baby, go down to the river, wash it off, give it to the nanny and be back at work the following day, but sure enough, their brains turn to mush, and then after the birth the maternal instincts kick in, they take three months off, get it out of their system and are back to normal". On the subject of paternity leave he suggested that he thinks "it's a bit soppy".

Personal life

Paphitis lives with his wife Debbie in Weybridge, Surrey, to whom he refers as ''Mrs. P'' on Dragons' Den. They have five children – two sons and three daughters – and three grandchildren. Two of these five children are twins.

Known to be something of a "petrolhead" and a big fan 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 have a series of personalised number plates, including T1HEO and RYM4N (on the Maybach). He also bought Peter Jones a personalised numberplate, saying W411KER (a reference to the word wanker). 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. Paphitis' brother, Marinos, is director for the South Eastern region of the Learning & Skills Council.

References

External links

Official website

The Founder - student newspaper interview

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:British people of Cypriot descent Category:British businesspeople Category:British football chairmen and investors Category:Greek Cypriot people Category:Cypriot emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:Millwall F.C. directors and chairmen Category:People from Limassol

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