He then became an apprentice bricklayer and made his initial fortune through housebuilding businesses,[5] the first of which he sold in the early 1970s and the second of which was bought by Barratt Developments for £5.7million.
In 2009, it was reported by the Sunday Times Rich List that Hemmings had lost £700m because of a collapse in the price of Royal Bank of Scotland shares, making him only the ninth richest man in the North West and the 178th in the country.
The Rich List editor, Ian Coxon, said the drop in Hemmings' fortunes had been caused by the decrease in value of his North West property portfolio as well as his share investment.
[12] He submitted several plans to redevelop the site for housing, but there followed a long campaign against the development led by the National Trust for Jersey.
[13] Hemmings provided the funds for the S.A.F.E centre, a project helping the victims of sexual violence in Preston, Lancashire.