Simon successfully led Barbour ABI for 25 years, during which he more than trebled revenues, and delivered key partnerships with organisations including the Office for National Statistics, Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

In his announcement to customers, Simon said that he is taking a break from work before he plans to undertake a new challenge in the months ahead.

“The Barbour ABI Group brands and product range is one I am proud to have led,” he added. “We have captured market leadership, brought a unique level of market analysis, and stayed ahead of the curve with strategic acquisitions and world-class product development.

“The company is perfectly positioned to support construction businesses in their use of smart data moving forwards. I look forward to seeing the group building on these strong foundations and going from strength to strength”.

David has over 20 years of experience in one of the world’s largest insight and consultancy businesses, Kantar, where he led the Worldpanel division in the UK and USA as Commercial Director, doubling client revenues during his tenure.

David said: “Infopro Digital has fantastic information and technological assets globally and great ambitions. I’m excited to be leading the Barbour ABI group, a market leader in the UK, at a time when we are step-changing our offer to pre-empt the diverse demand for insights and intelligence within the built environment.”

Earlier this month, Barbour ABI announced an exclusive partnership with Planning Portal, which will enable customers to get access to planning application data the moment it is published.

It has also launched a new business intelligence dashboard for customers this year, which brings together sector trends, planning data and leads for easy, instant analysis.