in Tanzania. Davies was found guilty of drink driving in June 2011 following a 5-mile police chase in May 2010. In September 2017, Davies made a £5.15 million donation to the University of Leicester and hospitals associated with it. This was the university's largest ever philanthropic gift from an individual, with the money largely supporting research into vascular limb disease. The university renamed its Centre for Medicine to the George Davies Centre in honour of this donation in November of that year, with Sir David Attenborough officially opening the building. Timeline 1941 – Born George William Davies on 29 October 1941 in Crosby, Lancashire 1972 – Leaves his dentistry degree at the University of Birmingham, to start his career as a buyer for Littlewoods 1972 – Starts his own company,'Schoolcare' 1982 – Launches the retail chain, 'Next' 1984 – Launches Next for Men 1988 – Launches the Next Directory 1990 – Launches the clothing label, 'George at Asda' 1995 – Launches the sports leisure wear manufacturer S'porter and retail design consultancy red creative 1999 – Launches leisure wear collection for Liverpool F.C. 2000 – Resigns from Asda after takeover by Walmart 2001 – Per Una label for Marks & Spencer launches on 28 September 2002 – Per Una to franchise stores launched around the world, M&S retains exclusive UK rights 2002 – Launches Collezione Italia, a collection designed in Italy 2004 – Launches Per Una Due, a younger version of Per Una 2004 – Launches Per Una Beauty – Fragrance and Cosmetics 2005 – Marks & Spencer buys rights to the Per Una brand 2005 – Launches leisure wear collection for Arsenal F.C. 2005 – Resigns then reverses decision to quit Per Una and returns as consultant/chairman 2005 – Appears on BBC's Desert Island Discs 2008 – Resigns as Chairman of Per Una in December 2008 2009 – Announces the launch of his 4th fashion business – GIVe which opened in 25 stores across the UK on 1 October 2009 Awards and honours 1985 – The Guardian Young Businessman of Year 1985 1987 – Wood Mackenzie Retailer of Year 1987 – FRSA (Fellow Royal Society of Arts) 1988 – Marketing Personality of Year 1988 – Senior Fellow Royal College of Art 1989 – Hon DBA Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University) 1992 – Had his first son, George 1993 – Had his second son, Barnaby 1996 – Hon DDes