David has been a qualified Chartered Surveyor since 1971 and was Global President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 2007-2008. RICS has members operating in 130 countries around the world.

He founded Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT Consultants LLP), an independent property and construction consultancy in 1973. The organisation now has offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Guildford and is one of the leading practices of its type in UK.

TFT advises most UK blue chip investment and development organisations such as British Land, Land Securities, The Crown Estate, Grosvenor, Prudential, Legal & General, Aviva, etc., as well as major overseas based clients such as GIC (Government of Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund) in their acquisition of hotel portfolios throughout UK and Europe. 

He has experience in all types of real estate, including the leisure sector and TFT provides Project Management, Project Monitoring for lenders, Development Management and Investment Due Diligence and a range of specialist services, such as sustainability consultancy, for developers, investors and operators. 

David has considerable experience as an Expert Witness, providing expert reports and testimony in the British High Court, the High Court in Hong Kong and the International Arbitration Centre in Hong Kong in disputes involving building standards and performance and contractual matters.