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Full contact details for each department within the club can be seen here.

GEORGE HOUGHTON - Chairman

George Houghton, born in 1940, grew up in the Tynemouth area. Son of a showman, George was always trying to find ways of making money from a very young age. Leaving school at only 15 years old, his early passion was cars and consequently got involved in sales. After a couple of years he landed a job with one of the region's top dealerships and before long he was their top salesman and was promoted to sales manager before teaming up with his brother to start their own car sales business which grew rapidly.

George Houghton

Several years later he created a direct holiday company which flourished over the years into a substantial business working very closely with Sir Freddie Laker. In 1979 he controlled over two thousand beds in Malta and leased his own planes but unfortunately due to the price of fuel going from 70p to £1.10 overnight the business was forced to close when George was 40 years old. This was a disaster for George as he lost everything he owned including his car dealership / rental business and his house as the Aviation Authority called in the bond.

George then had a rethink of how to get going again and saw opportunities in the video business and healthcare. He borrowed an old estate car from a friend and went to London to buy videos and sold them to the independent video rental shops. It wasn't long before he opened his own rental shops and expanded the video wholesale business. He used to travel to the States negotiating the rights to current blockbuster movies and built up his distribution network. Once he had built a 'fighting fund' he started speculating with property which enabled him to enter the healthcare sector with his first care home. Over time George and his wife Jennifer built up what is now known as the Executive Care Group. The Group fluctuates in size as some of the homes are sold to other groups as turnkey projects, however they will have built over 60 homes over the last 20 years.

Using the strength of the Executive Care Group, George expanded his business interests beyond care homes and is now involved in many different companies both in the U.K. and abroad. The G.H. Group is now a formidable business employing thousands of people around the globe and enjoying great success.

George was always keen on sport and especially football. When he heard that Darlington F.C might be for sale, he jumped at the chance. Not only for the love of football but also the incredible stadium which he felt had not been fully utilised. He also is building an alliance with U.S. Clubs as he sees tremendous growth opportunities in American Soccer over the next 5 to 8 years.