Peter Emerson Jones began his working life as a joiner in his father’s business before establishing his own contracting and development company in Cheshire. Over the decades, he built the business from small house-building plots into a major property group. Emerson Developments now encompasses residential house-building (via Jones Homes), commercial property development (via Orbit Developments) and international leisure and resort assets (notably in the Algarve in Portugal and Florida in the US). The company builds around 400 homes in the UK annually, while also managing commercial and overseas holdings.

Jones remains actively involved in the business despite his age, supervising the three principal operating divisions—Residential, Commercial and International—and guiding strategy and development opportunities. Under his leadership, Emerson Developments has established a reputation for quality, diversification across geographies and asset classes and longevity in the UK property-development sector.