Keith Davidson talks to The Herald about his "very varied journey" to becoming a property developer and reflects on the successes of his Easy Living Developments business, which he founded with wife Tracey. He also offers his views on the challenges facing the sector and what could be done to address these.

Name: Keith Davidson.

What is your business called? Easy Living Developments Ltd. It was founded by my wife Tracey, a commercial accountant and definitely the boss, and I in November 2011. Scott McKechnie then became the third director when he joined the business as technical director in 2013. The business is that of property construction and development, with an in-house design and planning team that provides the technical support to both the commercial and residential divisions of the business. Easy Living Homes is the trade name of our housebuilding division and is increasingly becoming a stand-alone brand.

Where is it based? Glenrothes, Fife.

What does it produce/do? Residential and commercial construction. Currently developing two residential sites in Fife.

Kings Meadow, an 80-home development in the village of Coaltown of Balgonie, will employ the very latest green technology with the use of an ambient ground source heat pump system to provide heating and hot water to all the homes.

This development is a further step forward in the company’s green endeavours and follows its previous successful renovation and redevelopment of the former Forth Park Maternity Hospital in Kirkcaldy into contemporary villas and bungalows, alongside luxury apartments in the Grade B listed former mansion house and mews buildings. The whole team are extremely proud of the end result, having created a landmark development that will hopefully stand the test of time and extend the life of the listed buildings by at least another hundred years.

Our other current operational site is also in Fife, at Castle Gait in East Wemyss. A 100-home development which is fairly unique in the new-build world in that it has a majority of bungalows ranging in size from two to five bedrooms.

Our previous successful developments also include a 168-home development in Lochgelly. Other projects in the pipeline include new sites at Cupar Muir and Balmullo, again both in Fife, and specifically designed as communities for the over-55s, which appears to be an expanding market.

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On the commercial side, Easy Living Developments is currently progressing its own business park in Lochgelly, with 16 new small units ranging from circa 1,000 to 1,500 square feet especially designed with the small/start-up business market in mind. Also about to commence is a leisure development at a former quarry near Powmill in Perth and Kinross, where planning permission was gained for 114 luxury holiday lodges and there is the potential for creation of a wedding venue. This site is perhaps the most exciting of them all as it’s possibly the most picturesque and tranquil venue that the team has ever had the pleasure to be involved in. And, being within 90 minutes travelling time of 90% of the population of Scotland, it surely represents a huge opportunity going forward.

To whom does your business sell? General public, commercial and retail investors.

What is its turnover? Circa £15 million.

How many employees? Circa 45.

What attracted you to your current role? As a serial entrepreneur, it was the opportunity to acquire development sites at the right price following the financial crash that proved to be the catalyst that persuaded us to invest in, and eventually grow, a new-start construction business. I’ll give you a bit more background on this, as I was actually considering retiring, having built a holiday home in Pitlochry. We never got the opportunity to live in it though, as we ended up selling it the day we finished the construction to a lady in the street who happened to be passing, and asked if it was for sale! This then inspired us to start the new construction business, initially embarking upon a build - using timber-frame construction - for commercial units in Glenrothes, including an Iceland store. We impressed Iceland so much that they asked us if we would build more stores throughout the UK, but we declined as we wanted to remain Fife-centric.

On the commercial side, we knocked down and rebuilt circa 30,000 square feet of retail space in Dundee. Locally in Glenrothes, we have also managed to relocate the local Miners’ Welfare Club (CISWO) by purchasing and converting the old social work offices in Glenrothes into a magnificent new facility incorporating a 550-seat auditorium along with an additional function suite, snooker and darts rooms, and associated bar and kitchen facilities. We understand the rejuvenated club is now one of the most successful in the country.

On the brownfield site vacated by the club, we created a new retail development in the town centre, bringing Marks & Spencer, Food Warehouse, Farmfoods and a tanning studio to the town.

The retail park was sold to Liverpool-based property investment and development specialist Atmore Group. Atmore was interested in getting involved in residential projects and teamed up with us in a joint venture called Atmore Easy Living Developments (AELD Ltd), a company which buys land, which Easy Living then develops.

What were you doing before? I have had a very varied journey to becoming a property developer. I joined the Royal Navy at 16 to be an electrician, rose through the ranks to become an officer, and ended up second in command of a minesweeper warship based at Rosyth. Following my 12 years in the Navy, Tracey and I set up a business retailing nappies called Tops for Bottoms. The venture was going great guns for six months, with us having visions of it becoming a national franchise before, excuse the pun, the "bottom fell out the market’" after a major toy retailer started selling huge packs of nappies for cheaper than we were able to buy them.

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I then moved into financial services before setting up an insurance/advisory company. After selling that business, I started investing in coal mines and bought two mines - one in Wales and one in the Midlands - which were eventually sold to Waverley Mining. I also bought a quarrying business before being headhunted by Hong Kong-based conglomerate The Riche Group, becoming their European and America CEO. The business had a diverse range of investments, with interests in everything from pet food and military vehicles to property development and sports cars.

What do you least enjoy? Bad weather which holds up progress. It is very frustrating, but there’s not much you can do about the Scottish climate.

What do you consider to be the main successes of the business? The creation of an excellent team that now undertakes the whole process from land acquisition, through the planning process, to finally handing over a completed residential or commercial property.

What are your ambitions for the firm? To continue to grow in a controlled manner, and in doing so provide opportunities for those who wish to join us on that journey.

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What are the challenges facing the sector and market, and what could be done to overcome or address these? Interest rates, the planning system, and the lack of “reliable” young people entering the construction profession. Hopefully the new UK and the existing Scottish Government will act on previously stated commitments on both the planning system, and training and education.

What single thing would most help? Public confidence in the future.

How do you relax? By keeping active, whether it be in the gym, jogging, walking in the hills or spending time on the water with friends and family.

What phrase or quotation has inspired you the most? “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember you haven’t.”: Thomas Edison.

What is the best book you have ever read? Why is it the best? The Lord of the Rings. It allows you to be engrossed in an entirely different world with hidden meanings and subplots.

Where do you find yourself most at ease? Anywhere with my wife, Tracey.

If you weren’t in your current role, what job would you most fancy? An archaeologist, or a professional sportsman.

What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why? Italy for its history, food, wine, lakes and mountains - a country which can accommodate every taste without having to travel more than three hours in an aeroplane. It’s the destination that has it all!