Tom Mairs is a British property entrepreneur best known for founding Antona Student Properties, appearing on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire, and for his marriage to Olympic gold medallist and television presenter Sam Quek. His public profile combines property investment, philanthropy, occasional television appearances and, more recently, a shared involvement in horse racing.
Unlike many people whose public recognition comes primarily through a famous spouse, Tom Mairs had already established a business and appeared on national television before Quek’s 2016 Olympic triumph. Reliable public records reveal substantial information about his professional career, while many details of his private life remain appropriately outside the public domain.
Key Takeaway
Tom Mairs is a British property entrepreneur and University of Liverpool graduate who founded Antona Student Properties in 2008. He appeared on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire in 2010 and remains actively connected to his property business. He is married to Olympic champion Sam Quek, with whom he has two children and a shared interest in horse racing.
Quick Bio
| Fact | Verified Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Stuart Mairs |
| Professional name | Tom Mairs |
| Profession | Property entrepreneur |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | February 1986 |
| Education | University of Liverpool |
| Known for | Antona Student Properties; The Secret Millionaire |
| Business | Antona Student Properties / Antona (2008) LLP |
| Spouse | Sam Quek |
| Children | Molly Doris Mairs; Isaac “Zac” Gregory Mairs |
Public records confirm that Tom Mairs’ full name is Thomas Stuart Mairs. Companies House lists him as British, records his birth month and year as February 1986, and identifies him as an active designated member of Antona (2008) LLP. His children’s names have also been publicly shared by the family in published interviews.
Who Is Tom Mairs?
Tom Mairs is primarily a property businessman rather than a full-time television personality. His company, Antona Student Properties, says it was founded in 2008 after Mairs identified demand for better-quality, relatively hassle-free student accommodation while studying at the University of Liverpool. The business began with a single house rented to friends and expanded into a larger Liverpool student-property operation.
His first major exposure to a national audience came through The Secret Millionaire. His public recognition later increased because of his relationship with Sam Quek, particularly during the 2016 Rio Olympics and Quek’s subsequent broadcasting and entertainment career. BBC Sport even highlighted Mairs during Rio, noting that he had been attending Quek’s matches in different fancy-dress outfits.
Education and Career Beginnings
Antona’s official company profile identifies Mairs as a graduate of the University of Liverpool. In a first-person interview published by Community Integrated Care following his television appearance, Mairs also referred to having a business degree.
His business idea was closely connected to his university experience. According to Antona, he saw a gap in Liverpool’s student accommodation sector and began by letting one house to friends. Rather than presenting his career as a sudden television-driven success, the available chronology shows that his property activity was already established before The Secret Millionaire.
Tom Mairs and Antona Student Properties
Building the Student-Housing Business
Antona Student Properties describes its focus as higher-quality student accommodation across Liverpool. The company states that its portfolio grew from that first property into one of the larger independently owned student-property operations in its region.
The official corporate record provides stronger verification of the underlying business. Companies House lists Antona (2008) LLP, company number OC337597, as an active limited liability partnership incorporated on 27 May 2008. As of the latest available filings in 2026, its accounts and confirmation statements remain current.
Mairs’ Current Corporate Role
Companies House lists Thomas Stuart Mairs as an active LLP designated member, appointed when Antona was incorporated in May 2008. The register also identifies him as the active person with significant control, with 75% or more of the voting rights recorded for the partnership.
This distinction matters because some online biographies simply describe him as a vague “property millionaire”. The public corporate record provides a more useful picture: he has a documented leadership and ownership position in an active UK property partnership. His personal net worth, however, cannot responsibly be calculated from those records alone.
Career Breakthrough: The Secret Millionaire
Mairs’ major television breakthrough came in 2010, when he appeared on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire. This date is confirmed by Antona’s own company profile and contemporary material from Community Integrated Care.
In the Community Integrated Care interview, Mairs explained that Channel 4 contacted him about participating. Although filming elsewhere had been discussed, he wanted the programme to remain around Liverpool because he felt that a community connected to the city where he had built his business should benefit.
Work With Liverpool Youth Projects
During filming, Mairs spent time with organisations including SPACE, a youth project in Bootle, Kids Konnect and CELLS, alongside a young boys’ football team. He ultimately highlighted Kids Konnect and SPACE as projects he particularly wanted to support.
Importantly, he told the publication that he intended his involvement to continue beyond filming through financial help, business support and personal time. He also described maintaining contact with people and organisations he had met through the programme.
Television Appearances and Public Profile
Although The Secret Millionaire remains the programme most directly associated with Mairs, television never became his primary career.
In 2016, he appeared alongside Sam Quek on the BBC One antiques game show For What It’s Worth. Published programme records and later coverage report that the pair won the £2,500 jackpot.
That same year, Mairs became more visible to sports audiences while supporting Quek during the Rio Olympics. BBC Sport reported from Rio that he attended her matches in changing fancy dress, including appearing as a knight with a drum. Quek went on to win Olympic hockey gold with Great Britain.
Marriage to Sam Quek and Family Life
Tom Mairs is married to Sam Quek MBE, the former Great Britain and England hockey player who won Olympic gold at Rio 2016 before developing a substantial broadcasting career. The couple married in 2018, with Chester Racecourse serving as their wedding venue.
Their marriage has been discussed publicly by both of them rather than being reconstructed from gossip reporting. They have two children: daughter Molly Doris and son Isaac “Zac” Gregory. Interviews surrounding Zac’s birth explained that the couple chose Isaac as his formal first name while using Zac in everyday life.
Mairs has also spoken in interviews about supporting Quek while she combined television work with pregnancy and parenthood. Their public comments present their family responsibilities as shared, while more private details are best left outside a biography.
A Shared Interest in Horse Racing
Horse racing has developed into another documented part of Mairs’ public life. A 2025 Racing Post interview reported that Quek and Mairs are serious racing enthusiasts and have been involved in racehorse ownership alongside Mairs’ mother, Jane.
In 2021, the couple took a share in the Dandy Man filly Stenton Glider. The horse subsequently won on debut at Chester, an especially meaningful result given the couple’s connection to Chester Racecourse. By 2025, Racing Post reported that Quek and Mairs had also moved into breeding, with Stenton Glider in foal to No Nay Never.
Current Professional Status
As of August 2026, the strongest public evidence indicates that Tom Mairs remains professionally connected to his original property enterprise. Antona (2008) LLP remains active at Companies House, with Mairs recorded as an active designated member and person with significant control. The partnership’s latest listed accounts cover the period ending 5 April 2025, while its 2026 confirmation filing is also recorded.
This makes his property career more than a historical detail from a reality-TV appearance. Public corporate filings show continuity extending from the business’s 2008 incorporation to the present record.
Common Misconceptions About Tom Mairs
One recurring error online concerns the date of his Secret Millionaire appearance. Some later articles describe him as appearing in 2013, apparently reflecting the publication date of retrospective coverage. Antona’s official history and contemporary Community Integrated Care material place the television appearance in 2010.
Another issue is personal wealth. Various celebrity sites publish precise estimates for Tom Mairs’ net worth, but no reliable public document establishes an exact personal figure. Companies House can verify corporate appointments and filings; it cannot, by itself, establish an individual’s complete personal wealth.
Growing Influence
Mairs occupies an unusual public position: he is simultaneously a long-term property entrepreneur, former reality-TV participant and spouse of a prominent British athlete and broadcaster. His own documented professional history predates much of the celebrity interest surrounding his marriage.
The most useful way to understand his public significance is therefore through his business record and Secret Millionaire work rather than speculative wealth stories. His more recent involvement in racehorse ownership and breeding has added another publicly documented interest without replacing property as the foundation of his professional identity.
Conclusion
Tom Mairs built his public identity first through property. After graduating from the University of Liverpool, he established Antona Student Properties in 2008, developed a student-accommodation business and gained national exposure through The Secret Millionaire in 2010. Current Companies House records continue to link him directly to the active Antona partnership.
His marriage to Sam Quek has broadened public interest in his life, but it does not tell his entire story. His documented career, charitable television experience and growing involvement in racing provide a clearer picture, while exact wealth figures and other unsupported personal claims should be treated cautiously.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tom Mairs?
Tom Mairs, whose full name is Thomas Stuart Mairs, is a British property entrepreneur. He founded Antona Student Properties in 2008 after studying at the University of Liverpool and became known nationally through his 2010 appearance on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire.
What does Tom Mairs do for a living?
His principal documented profession is property. He is an active designated member of Antona (2008) LLP, the company behind Antona Student Properties, and Companies House records him as the partnership’s active person with significant control.
When was Tom Mairs on The Secret Millionaire?
Mairs appeared on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire in 2010. Contemporary material records his work with youth and community organisations around Liverpool, including SPACE in Bootle and Kids Konnect.
Is Tom Mairs married to Sam Quek?
Yes. Tom Mairs and Olympic gold medallist and broadcaster Sam Quek married in 2018. Their wedding was held at Chester Racecourse and incorporated the couple’s shared enthusiasm for horse racing.
Do Tom Mairs and Sam Quek have children?
Yes. They have two children whose names have been publicly disclosed by the family: daughter Molly Doris and son Isaac “Zac” Gregory. The couple have discussed parenthood together in published interviews.
What is Tom Mairs doing now?
Current Companies House records show Mairs remains an active designated member of Antona (2008) LLP. He and Quek have also been publicly involved in horse racing, including ownership and breeding interests connected with Stenton Glider.
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