As the head of a £400million property empire, you would expect Andreas Panayiotou to be adept at reading up on business propositions and wading through lengthy legal contracts.
But remarkably, the London tycoon, who is ranked 200th on the Rich List, has achieved his success having never learned to read.
The son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants, Mr Panayiotou was raised in London's East End and at school proved to be a useful boxer.
But when he looks back on his school days, it is not the fear of stepping into the ring that the 45-year-old recalls. Instead, it is his 'secret shame' - the terror he would feel when asked to read aloud in class.
'I can remember it with absolute clarity,' Mr Panayiotou told the London Evening Standard.
'The teacher is going round the room asking different kids to read. I am praying he won't call me. He calls one kid. Then another. I am getting hot and anxious. Sod's law, third kid, he turns to me.
'That moment has stayed with me because it was the day I realised I had a problem.'
Mr Panayiotou learned to memorise words but never did learn to read in the conventional sense, leaving school at 14 without a single O-level.
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But remarkably, the London tycoon, who is ranked 200th on the Rich List, has achieved his success having never learned to read.
The son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants, Mr Panayiotou was raised in London's East End and at school proved to be a useful boxer.But when he looks back on his school days, it is not the fear of stepping into the ring that the 45-year-old recalls. Instead, it is his 'secret shame' - the terror he would feel when asked to read aloud in class.
'I can remember it with absolute clarity,' Mr Panayiotou told the London Evening Standard.
'The teacher is going round the room asking different kids to read. I am praying he won't call me. He calls one kid. Then another. I am getting hot and anxious. Sod's law, third kid, he turns to me.
'That moment has stayed with me because it was the day I realised I had a problem.'
Mr Panayiotou learned to memorise words but never did learn to read in the conventional sense, leaving school at 14 without a single O-level.
