Peter Emerson Jones first qualified as a joiner and worked in his father's business before striking out on his own in 1959, aged 24. His new company, PE Jones (Contractors), built houses on small plots around Cheshire. Almost 70 years later, that modest builder has become Emerson Developments, one of the largest privately owned property groups in the UK, and Jones is still its chairman.

The business’s strength lies in its breadth. Orbit Developments, launched in 1971, holds a substantial commercial estate across northwest England. Meanwhile, Jones Homes builds between 250 and 500 houses a year, and Emerson International runs resort and residential schemes as far afield as Orlando and the Algarve in Portugal.

That diversification is no accident. Housebuilding is famously cyclical, and rental income from the commercial portfolio is able to fund land buying through downturns. It is why the group could absorb losses in 2009 that would have sunk a leaner builder.

Like many of Britain's great family businesses, control stays close to home. A trust in the names of Jones and his wife Audrey holds a controlling stake, and family members sit on the board. Jones received an OBE in 2014 for services to business in the North West. More than six decades after starting on small Cheshire plots, he’s built something far bigger than houses.