Duncan Davidson

Biographical Information
A profile from 2006 notes: The need for money has driven him all his life even though his mother, née Lady Mary Rachel Fitzalan-Howard, was the daughter of the 15th Duke of Norfolk. The duke's responsibilities include arranging state occasions, which explains why the nine-year-old Davidson found himself attending the Queen... Persimmon has a land bank of 78,000 plots, about two-thirds of which are brownfield sites. It will build nearly 17,000 homes in the UK next year, angering those who fear the country will soon be under concrete... Davidson himself spent four years in tanks with the Royal Scots Greys after school, "in lieu of anything else to do". It was the beginning of his love affair with the north of England. He talks of the East Riding and Cumberland, mocking the modern "Cumb-ree-yah". His grandmother lived in Yorkshire and Davidson would often stay with her. His wife is a "Yorkshire lass", and Persimmon's headquarters are in York. From next month, he will be spending more time in the north. He is stepping down as executive chairman to become life president of Persimmon. Its chief executive, John White, will become chairman."