Television, leisure and property entrepreneur, reality TV star
"Believe in yourself, never give up and go about your business with passion drive and enthusiasm." - Peter Jones
Full name: Peter Jones Famous for: British Businessman with interests in mobile telecommunications, television, media, leisure and property. Dragons Den and The Inventor TV star Jones details:Born - March 18, 1966 Live - UK
As a schoolboy, Peter Jones dreamt of running a multi-million pound company - a dream that was shaped over the many hours he spent fantasising whilst sitting in his father's leather office chair in a Windsor-based air conditioning firm.
Building an Empire
Today, Peter has built a £200 million empire at the age of 39, as owner, chairman and CEO of various businesses ranging from telecoms and leisure to publishing and media. He is also a prominent television business entrepreneur, television celebrity and business speaker.
The success of his empire is the latest in a long line of achievements for Jones. At the age of 16 after completing the Lawn Tennis Association's coaching examinations, Peter set up his first company, a successful tennis academy at a local club.
By the age of 28, Jones was the youngest ever head of PC Business at computer firm Siemens Nixdorf.. He started his telecoms business in 1998l. The firm, which is split into four main operating companies, experienced explosive growth with revenue totalling £14 million by the end of the first year and £44 million by the end of the second. Group turnover for 2005/2006 totalled in excess of £180 million with over £6 million pre-tax profits. The group counts every leading brand in the mobile industry among its business partners, whether as a supplier, customer or collaborator.
In 2003 Phones International Group was recognised as being amongst the most successful businesses in the UK, having been identified as 13th fastest growing business within the Sunday Times/Virgin Atlantic UK Fast Track League Table. Jones has also received a number of personal accolades: in 2001 he was named as Emerging Entrepreneur of The Year by The Times/Ernst & Young, and was named 14th in the top 40 young entrepreneurs by the Daily Telegraph in 2005.
Peter Jones's business interests now span many other areas than just telecommunications and include business services, entertainment, publishing, property, leisure and television.
Television Personality
2005 was a pivotal year for Jones, having appeared on the BBC's ground breaking business television show Dragon's Den, which is now recording its fifth series, to be screened in 2007.
Together with his business partner Theo Paphitis, Peter purchased struggling events firm Red Letter Days following the company's collapse at the hands of fellow Dragons' Den panellist Rachel Elnaugh and is committed to ensuring a successful future for the business. Last year, Peter also founded Wines4Business, an online retailer specialising in the sale of wine and champagne to corporate clients, Mymarina.com which provides wireless communications for the UK's marinas and Wonderland Magazine, a new luxury lifestyle magazine.
2006 is already another exciting year for Peter as his brand new TV series, The American Inventor, aired in the US this spring and was an instant hit for America's largest TV network ABC. The show has been recommissioned for another series in 2007. Peter's creation of a business TV show created specifically for a US audience led him to approach Simon Cowell, who with his company Syco TV, and took it to America with Peter. In April this year, Peter signed a multi-million pound deal with ITV to produce and star in business style TV programmes over the next two years. The first of these - The Tycoon - will see Peter searching the UK for the next big Business Tycoon.
Author
Together with Dragon's Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden and Richard Farleigh, Peter has written a book 'Dragons Den: Success from Pitch to Profit'
Later this year, Peter will also be publishing his first book. Needless to say, the tennis coaching has been put on the back burner!
Peter lives in Elstead, Surrey with his partner Tara and their three children.
