 After Huddersfield's 2–3 loss to Yeovil Town on 16 September 2006, he addressed a peaceful demonstration of around 100 Town fans who had called for him to up the transfer budget or go, because of Town's poor start to the season in Football League One, in which they only picked up nine points from the first nine games.On 3 June 2009, he handed over the chairmanship to Dean Hoyle and, after a brief period of retaining a minority shareholding, relinquished all ownership in Huddersfield Town.He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Huddersfield and an Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute.