David is Chairman of specialist retailer Richer Sounds, having arrived at the company in 1983 and becoming Managing Director in 1991.
Richer Sounds is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for the ‘highest sales per square foot’ of any retailer in the world, and for two consecutive years was placed third and second respectively in the Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’. Richer Sounds has been awarded the prestigious ‘Best Retailer’ award from Which? five times in 10 years, the most recent being in 2019. The company was also honoured to be granted a Royal Warrant to HRH The Prince of Wales in 2011.
David is also Managing Director of JR Properties, a private property investment company in both the commercial and residential markets. He is a Trustee of the Persula Foundation, which offers practical help and support to charities and a Trustee of United Learning, the largest multi-academy trust in the UK, with over 60 schools in the group, in some of the toughest and most deprived areas of the country.
In 2013, he joined the Board of Great Places Housing Group, one of the largest, most successful and innovative social housing associations, with over 19,000 homes in the North of England. In 2018, David also became Chair of Cube Homes, Great Places commercial home building subsidiary.
In 2019, David led on the transition of Richer Sounds becoming employee owned, when Julian Richer passed on 60% of shares into an employee ownership trust for all employees, which received significant national and international publicity.
