A Fife man who played a major role in the growth of Dundee-based Thorntons Investments, has died aged 60.
Jeremy Dufton, who was head of discretionary investments at the wealth management firm, died following a three year battle against neuroendocrine tumours, a rare form of cancer.
He was born in Goole in Yorkshire’s East Riding and was the son of an RAF officer.
As is common with children born into the armed services, his childhood was one of living for short periods of time in different places around the UK.
Most of his secondary education was spent in Culford in Suffolk and Mr Dufton went on to read pure mathematics in Exeter College at Oxford University. He was also a member of Mensa.
Successful career
A career in the City of London beckoned and he worked as a currency trader.
But his love of Yorkshire was never far from his mind and grasped the opportunity of a position with Yorkshire Bank.
He successfully built the bank’s investment business during much of the 1990s before moving to what was then a small organisation called Yorkshire Investment Group.
He married his first wife Lesley in 1995 and they had a son, Adam.
By the time that business was sold in 2010, Mr Dufton had helped it grow to become a large regional Investment house.
The following year he set up his own investment business in England.
Move to Scotland
Mr Dufton’s father Arland died in 2013 and while seeking out his old RAF friends he was reacquainted with Dawn, the daughter of one of his father’s former colleagues, who lived in Fife.
As the relationship blossomed, he decided to move to Strathkinness in the summer of 2015. They married at Rufflets in St Andrews in 2017.
When he moved to Fife, he approached Thorntons Investments with the aim of trying to secure client referrals – but company chief executive Stephen Webster immediately offered him a job.
Immediate impact on Dundee firm
Mr Webster recalled: “I liked him immediately and with his fierce intellect and enormous investment brain I offered him a job there and then.
“Jeremy took on the role of head of discretionary investments and, along with myself and Matt Strachan, helped grow the business to what it is today.
“He made an immediate impact on the business after his arrival and his energy and enthusiasm drove the business onwards to much success.
“Jeremy is one of the dearest and most capable people I have ever worked with and he will be hugely missed by not only me and my colleagues, but the broader investment community in Scotland and the UK.
“He leaves behind his dear wife Dawn, his son Adam, his stepson James, his mother Terry and brother Simon.
“I have also been asked to mention the dog Barney for whom Jeremy had enormous affection.”
Mr Dufton was a keen runner who completed several marathons and half marathons.
His other passions included watching Yorkshire Cricket Club and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
