Jeff Fairburn

Jeffrey Fairburn (born 22 May 1966) is a British businessman, currently chief executive of Berkeley DeVeer, a Yorkshire-based house-builder.

Jeff Fairburn
Born
Jeffrey Fairburn

(1966-05-22) 22 May 1966
York, England
EducationFulford Comprehensive
Alma materYork Technical College
OccupationBusinessman
Known for£75m bonus accepted while CEO of Persimmon plc (2013-2018)
TitleCEO, Berkeley DeVeer
Term2020-present

Fairburn was previously CEO of Persimmon plc, a British housebuilding company and constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, from April 2013 to November 2018. In March 2017, he agreed to give a "substantial portion" of a £75 million bonus to charity, but, as of February 2021, no charitable involvement has been confirmed (however, in British law, private philanthropy without fundraising does not require the status of being a registered charity).

Early life

Jeffrey Fairburn was born on 22 May 1966.[1][2] He is the son of a motor mechanic father, grew up in York, and left Fulford Comprehensive at the age of 17.[2]

Career

After leaving school, Fairburn joined a two-year youth training scheme in York to become a quantity surveyor, working, and training for a Higher National Certificate (HNC) qualification at York Technical College.[2]

Fairburn joined Persimmon in 1989, becoming CEO in April 2013.[3] He was removed in November 2018 following a shareholder rebellion led by Aberdeen Standard Investments.[4]

As of December 2017, Fairburn had been a director of 305 UK companies.[1]

In December 2017, Persimmon's chairman, Nicholas Wrigley, resigned over his role in awarding Fairburn a bonus in the region of £100 million.[5] The Persimmon bonus scheme is believed to be the UK's "most generous ever", and was scheduled to pay more than £500 million to 150 senior staff from 31 December 2016.[5]

In March 2017, Fairburn agreed to hand back £25 million of the bonus and set aside a "substantial portion" of the sum to charity, bringing the total payout to £75 million.[6][7] In October 2018, he walked off camera during a BBC Look North interview, after his press officer objected to his being asked about the bonus. His parting words to the reporter were "I think that's very unfortunate actually that you've done that." In November 2018, Persimmon asked Fairburn to leave the company.[8]

The controversy around Fairburn continued in November 2019 when some politicians and campaigners urged him to reveal whether he has donated a portion of his controversial £75m bonus as he promised, as it appeared no charity had been set up in his name. A year after he was forced to step down, the Charity Commission said it had no record of a trust bearing Fairburn's name, nor did he appear as a trustee of any charity in England or Wales.[9] And no charity involvement could be identified 15 months later, in February 2021.[10] He said, in a January 2020 This Is Money interview, that this was because it was private; in British law there is no requirement for private philanthropy to be registered as a charity when there is no fundraising over £5,000.[11]

In January 2020, Fairburn bought a 50% stake in Wetherby, Yorkshire-based house-builder Berkeley DeVeer and became its chief executive.[10][12] In April 2021, Berkeley DeVeer partnered with Elliott Advisors to acquire Derbyshire-based housebuilder Avant Homes Group.[13] After Elliott Advisors also built a stake in Taylor Wimpey, there was speculation that Fairburn might take over as the rival housebuilder's CEO, but this was dismissed in December 2021.[14]

In March 2023, Fairburn set up a Durham-based private investment company, Third Stone Investments, with his wife, Jayne.[15]

Personal life

Fairburn drives a Range Rover, enjoys Formula One racing, and his holiday destination of choice is Florida.[2]

References
  1. "Jeffrey FAIRBURN - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. "Profile: Jeff Fairburn". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  3. "Executive Profile: Jeffrey Fairburn". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. Now, Scottish Construction. "Former Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn leads acquisition of Avant Homes". Scottish Construction Now. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. Neate, Rupert (15 December 2017). "Persimmon chair resigns over chief executive's 'obscene' £128m bonus". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. Curry, Rhiannon (27 February 2018). "Persimmon boss denies bumper shareholder returns are to appease investors". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. Monaghan, Angela (23 February 2018). "Persimmon slashes boss's bonus … to just £75m". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  8. Neate, Rupert; Monaghan, Angela (7 November 2018). "Persimmon boss asked to leave amid outrage over bonus". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  9. Millard, Rachel (26 November 2019). "Persimmon's £75m boss Jeff Fairburn urged to reveal charitable giving". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  10. Neate, Robert (14 February 2021). "Ex-Persimmon chief fails to set up charity three years on from bonus row". Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  11. "Charity purposes and rules". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  12. Clark, Jessica (14 January 2020). "Ex-Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn appointed CEO of Yorkshire housebuilder". City AM. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  13. Jefferson-Brown, Nadia (20 April 2021). "Ex Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn seals Avant Homes takeover". The Press. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  14. Gardiner, Joey (15 December 2021). "Jeff Fairburn 'not in running' for Taylor Wimpey top job". Building. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  15. Lawson, Alex (22 March 2023). "Ousted Persimmon boss sets up new venture with his wife". Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
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