David Lloyd (tennis)

David Lloyd
Country  United Kingdom
Residence Oxshott, Surrey
Born 3 January 1948
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Plays Right-handed
Singles
Career record 26–60
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open 1R (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
Wimbledon 3R (1968)
US Open 1R (1969)
Doubles
Career record 46-56
Career titles 1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open QF (1970)
Wimbledon SF (1973)
US Open 1R (1969, 1977)

David Alan Lloyd (born 3 January 1948)[1] is a former professional English tennis player and entrepreneur.

He was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. He and his younger brother John Lloyd became two of the most successful British tennis players throughout the 1970s and 1980s. David captained the British Davis Cup team and became a leading figure in the Lawn Tennis Association.

For a short time he was chairman of Hull City A.F.C. and Hull F.C.. He also played a major part in making Tim Henman a world top 10 tennis player.[1]

Tennis Career

David Lloyd grew up in Westcliff-On-Sea near Southend and began playing tennis at Westcliff Hard LTC, where his parents were members, together with his brothers Tony and John. To make a little pocket money he would string rackets for the club. At 14 he was one of the best schoolboy players in the country and just a year later he started playing full-time on the tennis circuit. With little money he had to hitchhike to tournaments and earned extra cash by stringing rackets for his rivals.

In 1965 he won both singles and doubles titles at Junior Wimbledon and the following year was runner up in the junior singles. In 1972 he reached the last 32 at Wimbledon, losing to Australian former world No. 1, John Newcombe.

He was a member of Great Britain’s Davis Cup squad between 1972-1974, and again between 1976-1980, and in 1978, was part of the first British team to reach the final since 1937. In 1976 he and his brother John achieved success together, winning a doubles title in London.

He retired from professional tennis in 1981, having attained a career-high of 128 in the world singles rankings (September 1973) and 40 in the world doubles ranking (August 1977).

He was appointed British Davis Cup captain in 1995 and went on to become a leading figure in the Lawn Tennis Association. He coached Tim Henman and was instrumental in him becoming British number 1 and a world top ten player.

David Lloyd Leisure

Following his retirement from professional tennis, Lloyd worked for a number of years as a coach at a tennis club in Canada. It was here that he hatched the idea of creating his own tennis and health club in the UK and on his return to Britain he founded the David Lloyd Leisure Clubs, opening the first club in Heston, near Hounslow in west London, in 1982. It was a pioneering concept in health and fitness: family oriented clubs with an emphasis on tennis.

The business was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1992 and by 1995, there were 18 David Lloyd Leisure clubs, when Whitbread PLC acquired the company for a reported £200 million, a record in the City at that time, incorporating it into its Restaurants & Leisure Division. David Lloyd remained as managing director of the division until 1996.

Lloyd, together with his son Scott, went on to create Next Generation fitness clubs and in 2007, London and Regional Properties in partnership with Bank of Scotland, acquired David Lloyd Leisure from Whitbread and incorporated Next Generation into the group, in a deal worth £925 million.

In 2013 the group was taken over by TDR Capital and continues to thrive under the leadership of CEO Scott Lloyd and now includes 88 UK and European David Lloyd Leisure Clubs, two exclusive Harbour Clubs, one Next Generation Club and three David Lloyd Studios, with a membership of around 440,000.

Property Businesses

Lloyd then turned his attention to real estate and developed the highly acclaimed Sugar Hill Resort in Barbados, where purchasers included Sir Cliff Richard, John Lodge of the Moody Blues and entertainers Bob Monkhouse and Jasper Carrot.

He later founded David Lloyd Resorts, a property shared-ownership concept and more recently, David Lloyd Signature Homes, a property business specialising in ski properties in France and high quality international resort properties.

Lloyd is also developing a luxury estate in Phuket.[2]

In May 2007, Lloyd bought the collection of artist Willard Wigan, estimated to be valued at £11.2 million.[3]

Career titles

Doubles (1)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. 6 November 1976 London Carpet United Kingdom John Lloyd United Kingdom John Feaver
Australia John James
6–4, 3–6, 6–2

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Buddell, James (August 2009). "David Lloyd". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  2. Leigh, David; Frayman, Harold; Ball, James (27 November 2012). "Britons Snapped Up Luxury Villas on Thai Island". The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (Center for Public Integrity). Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  3. "Micro artworks valued at £11.2m". BBC News Online. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2010.

External links

Business positions
Preceded by
Martin Fish
Hull City A.F.C. chairman
1997-1998
Succeeded by
Nick Buchanan