Paul Kemsley

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Paul Kemsley (born August 1967 in Stanmore, Middlesex), is an English Jewish property developer, best known as a former Vice-Chairman of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur, who he left in October 2007.

Educated at Atholl school in Rayners Lane, aged 15 Kemsley worked on Saturdays at John Paul Menswear, on the opposite side of the road to Mike Ashley's first Sports World equipment outlet. Kemsley and Ashley would play darts for money on quiet afternoons.^[1]

Kemsley left school at 17 and began working at surveyor Gross Fine as a junior. Form 1985 to 1992, Kemsley worked as an agent at Ross Jaye, leaving to join Ashley at Sports Direct. In 1995 he established Rock Joint Ventures Ltd in 1995 with the £1,800 he had left in his pocket.^[1] Presently with a property portfolio worth £750m, Joe Lewis of ENIC Group via a company called Rapallo, in which a Daniel Levy is an executive director.^[1]^[2]

Kemsley is often seen on the UK Poker circuit, playing high stakes cash games. He has developed successful investments in various online betting operators including Party Gaming, Chinese-licensed Betex, and AIM-quoted Fun Technologies.^[3]

Kemsley is known as a close friend of Mike Ashley, Sir Philip Green and Sir Alan Sugar. It was from his friendship with Sugar that Kemsley played a part in the ENIC/Levy partnership's purchase of a majority share holding in Tottenham Hotspur; and Hemsley himself later appearing as one of Sir Alan's interviewer/advisors on the United Kingdom edition of The Apprentice on the BBC.

Married to Loretta, the couple have three children and live in Radlett, Hertfordshire.^[1] He jointly owns a racehorse with Harry Redknapp called Sunshine Rays.^[2]