John D. Bell graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with a degree in Law in 1972 and qualified as a solicitor in 1975 after serving his articles with Newcastle based solicitors, Stanford and Lambert.

Following a period in local government latterly as a Chief Executive of a Scottish Authority, John joined the Yorkshire Water Authority in 1986 and became a founding Director of Yorkshire Water Plc in 1989. In this role he was responsible for a portfolio of businesses - including their property interests.

He also held various other directorships during that time including a four year spell as a Director with Babcock Water Engineering Limited. John, a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s International Senior Management Programme, was appointed Managing Director of the Evans Property Group in 1994.