John Burns (businessman)

In 1961, Burns joined Hillier Parker as a property negotiator. In 1965, he became a partner in the estate agency Barnet Baker. In 1974, he became a senior partner in the estate agency Pilcher Hershman.^[2][4]

In 1984, Burns was looking for a shell company to manage his property interests and chose the Derwent Valley Light Railway Company, which was then the owner of a few disused railway stations and valued at £1.5m. This became Derwent London, with Burns as its CEO.^[2]

Burns is married with two grown-up children.^[2] In 1997, his daughter Claire married the billionaire property developer Richard Livingstone. They later divorced.^[5]