Ken Davy
Encyclopedia
Ken Davy is a businessman who is also the chairman of the Super League
side Huddersfield Giants
and former chairman of the Football League One
side Huddersfield Town
.
on the East Coast of Yorkshire, he left school at 15 with no academic qualifications and worked as a photographer for P&O. At 21 he set up a commercial photography business in Huddersfield
before joining Abbey Life
in 1971. In 1979 formed independent financial advice company DBS, which he sold in June 2001, for £75 million. In 2003 he set up SimplyBiz, providing development, research and marketing services to financial advisers
, a move which resulted in the formation of the Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants. It was an unpopular move with supporters. After one season the club reverted back to the Huddersfield Giants.
On 26 August 2006 Davy witnessed Huddersfield Giants play St Helens in the Rugby League Challenge Cup
Final. It was the first time that the Giants had reached the final since 1962.
Ken Davy has been instrumental in the revival of Fartown. He has taken them back to the forefront of Rugby League world and worked tirelessly to achieve this over many years. The fans of the club regard him very highly and hope that silverware will soon find their way into the Fartown trophy cabinet.
and Town's recent relegation to the Football League
's bottom tier
.
In September 2006, he was criticised for failing to offer Town a significant transfer budget for the 2006–07 season
to enable the club to build on their play-off position of the previous season. The budget, which was unspecified, was (according to former manager Peter Jackson) already been used up on signing just two players, goalkeeper Matt Glennon
and striker
Luke Beckett
despite the release of Tony Carss
, David Graham, Junior Mendes
, Phil Senior
, and Anthony Lloyd
. However, Davy openly stated that Jackson was given the opportunity to strengthen his squad in order to mount a drive for promotion. This was not utilised and Jackson's "inability to attract key players" was one of the reasons given by Davy for the manager's dismissal.
After Huddersfield's 2–3 loss to Yeovil Town
on 16 September 2006, he addressed a peaceful demonstration of around 100 Town fans who had called for him to up the transfer budget or go, because of Town's poor start to the season in Football League One
in which they only picked up nine points from the first nine games.
On 3 June 2009, he handed over the chairmanship to Dean Hoyle
, but will retain a minority shareholding.
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
side Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
and former chairman of the Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
.
Career
Davy grew up in FileyFiley
Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort...
on the East Coast of Yorkshire, he left school at 15 with no academic qualifications and worked as a photographer for P&O. At 21 he set up a commercial photography business in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
before joining Abbey Life
Abbey Life
Abbey Life plc was a leading life assurance business based in London also with an office in Bournemouth. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
in 1971. In 1979 formed independent financial advice company DBS, which he sold in June 2001, for £75 million. In 2003 he set up SimplyBiz, providing development, research and marketing services to financial advisers
Huddersfield Giants
In 1996, Davy took over as chairman of Huddersfield Giants. Then in 1999, Davy merged Huddersfield Giants with Sheffield EaglesSheffield Eagles
Sheffield Eagles RLFC are an English rugby league club based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. They currently play in the Co-operative Championship. Their home games are played at Bramall Lane after leaving Don Valley Stadium in late 2009....
, a move which resulted in the formation of the Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants. It was an unpopular move with supporters. After one season the club reverted back to the Huddersfield Giants.
On 26 August 2006 Davy witnessed Huddersfield Giants play St Helens in the Rugby League Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
Final. It was the first time that the Giants had reached the final since 1962.
Ken Davy has been instrumental in the revival of Fartown. He has taken them back to the forefront of Rugby League world and worked tirelessly to achieve this over many years. The fans of the club regard him very highly and hope that silverware will soon find their way into the Fartown trophy cabinet.
Huddersfield Town
Davy lead the successful consortium, out of three interested, that took over Huddersfield Town in 2003, when they were in administration following the collapse of ITV DigitalITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...
and Town's recent relegation to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
's bottom tier
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
.
In September 2006, he was criticised for failing to offer Town a significant transfer budget for the 2006–07 season
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
to enable the club to build on their play-off position of the previous season. The budget, which was unspecified, was (according to former manager Peter Jackson) already been used up on signing just two players, goalkeeper Matt Glennon
Matt Glennon
Matthew William "Matt" Glennon is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Conference National club Stockport County....
and striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
Luke Beckett
Luke Beckett
Luke John Beckett is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and is currently without a club. Beckett played in the Football League for ten years notably appearing for Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town and Oldham Athletic, having also played for Chester City, Chesterfield,...
despite the release of Tony Carss
Tony Carss
Anthony John "Tony" Carss was a professional footballer who started his career with Blackburn Rovers, and went on to Darlington, Cardiff City, Chesterfield, Oldham Athletic and Huddersfield Town....
, David Graham, Junior Mendes
Junior Mendes
Albert Junior Hillyard Andrew Mendes , more commonly known as Junior Mendes, is a footballer who plays as a striker.-Club career:Born in Balham, London, In the past he has played for Chelsea, St...
, Phil Senior
Phil Senior
Phillip Anthony "Phil" Senior is an English footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for FC Halifax Town.-Biography:...
, and Anthony Lloyd
Anthony Lloyd
Anthony Francis Lloyd is an English footballer who plays for Stocksbridge Park Steels as a defender. He played over 60 games in the Football League for Huddersfield Town and Torquay United as well over 40 games for York City in the Conference National.-Career:Born in Taunton, Somerset, Lloyd began...
. However, Davy openly stated that Jackson was given the opportunity to strengthen his squad in order to mount a drive for promotion. This was not utilised and Jackson's "inability to attract key players" was one of the reasons given by Davy for the manager's dismissal.
After Huddersfield's 2–3 loss to Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
on 16 September 2006, he addressed a peaceful demonstration of around 100 Town fans who had called for him to up the transfer budget or go, because of Town's poor start to the season in Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in which they only picked up nine points from the first nine games.
On 3 June 2009, he handed over the chairmanship to Dean Hoyle
Dean Hoyle
Dean Hoyle was the founder and previous owner of Card Factory, a chain of greeting card and gift stores in Great Britain. Hoyle, from Wakefield, set up Card Factory in 1997. As of 2009, the company had 500+ shops, employing over 5,000 people. On 8 April 2010 Card Factory was sold to Charterhouse...
, but will retain a minority shareholding.