Gavin was
born and brought up in the town of Oban on the Scottish west coast.
After school he attended Napier College (now Napier University) in Edinburgh
where he also spent his initial QS years employed by a local QS practice.
Gavin moved to Johannesburg and joined MLC in 1981. He relocated to
MLC's Durban office in 1984 where he became a director in 1986.