He is notable for having roles in several large investment companies, his donations to UKIP, the Vote Leave campaign, and for legal action to limit public access to his land in Dartmoor.
[3] In 1987, Darwall moved to Paris to become head of the French equity research department for the Swedish group Enskilda Securities.
[4][3] In 2019, he founded a company known as Devon Equity Management, whose aim is to "achieve long term capital growth by exploiting special investment opportunities in Europe".
[1][11] In 2022, he received media attention for challenging the widely held interpretation of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 as including a public right to wild camping on the moor.
[12][13] Following the high court decision, Darwall and other landowners struck a deal with the Dartmoor National Park Authority, where they would be paid compensation in return for allowing wild camping on limited portions of their land.
[17] Local residents also raised concerns that Darwall's release of pheasants on his Dartmoor estate was leading to the endangerment of ecological woodland which is habitat for the Blue Ground Beetle, found in only 15 sites across England and Wales.