Building, Flying, and Leading: The Multifaceted Career of Jon Hilton

Jon Hilton is a British entrepreneur and pilot whose career reflects resilience, creativity, and determination. Best known as the founder of Legal Brokers Ltd and for his notable achievements in microlight aviation, Hilton has built a life that spans business, engineering, aviation, and endurance challenges.
His story begins in Bury, Greater Manchester, where he was born to Geoffrey and Peggy Hilton. His father was a well-regarded insolvency accountant, and his mother worked as a social worker. During his school years, Hilton faced difficulties that might have discouraged many. An emergency abdominal surgery led to a long absence from school and disrupted his education. These setbacks caused him to leave higher education behind, but they also shaped the persistence that would later define his professional path.
After leaving school, Hilton joined a Youth Training Scheme and began working as a tunnel engineer. He studied for and achieved an Ordinary National Certificate in Civil Engineering while building practical experience in the construction industry. His early career came to a sudden halt when he suffered a compression fracture to his spine in a workplace accident. This life-changing injury forced him to rethink his future and leave behind a profession he had only just begun.
Determined not to be defeated, Hilton moved into the property sector and began working as an estate agent. He later expanded into financial services, gaining experience as both a mortgage and insurance broker. His commitment to professionalism led him to qualify in 2005 to use the designation Cert PFS after his name, awarded through the examination process of the Personal Finance Society. These years gave him insight into business, finance, and the legal framework surrounding property transactions.
Hilton’s career took another surprising turn when he entered the lighting industry, where he achieved recognition for his work on some of the most visible projects in Europe. Among his successes was his role in the installation of searchlights at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Hilton had generated a mailshot that caught the attention of a Paris-based technology company. To demonstrate the power of the lighting system, he personally transported a seven-kilowatt Xenon searchlight through the Channel Tunnel to an industrial estate near Charles de Gaulle Airport. There, he displayed his twenty-mile range before returning to England to negotiate and secure the contract. The installation remains in place and is known for its rotating beam effect produced by a baffle mechanism, now a signature feature of the Paris skyline.
He also managed the lighting installation on the Millennium Bridge across the River Thames in London, a project tied to the vision of Lord Foster. The bridge’s lighting system created the striking “blade of light” feature required in the design, and Hilton’s ability to deliver helped bring the ambitious architectural concept to life.
In 2004, Hilton launched a new venture with only a modest £500 overdraft. That small beginning became Legal Brokers Ltd, a company that provides legal services to both individuals and law firms in England and Wales. The business helps clients find conveyancing solicitors and offers a range of services tailored to the needs of the legal sector. Under Hilton’s leadership, Legal Brokers Ltd has grown into a company with an annual turnover in the millions, a success that reflects his entrepreneurial vision and ability to build strong professional networks.
While Hilton established himself in business, his passion for aviation remained a defining part of his life. At the age of 22, he traveled to Missouri in the United States to earn his private pilot’s license. He began training for a commercial license but was forced to halt his ambitions when a corneal ulcer interfered with his eyesight. Nevertheless, he returned to the skies as a private pilot and made aviation a personal pursuit that would later bring him public recognition.
In 2013, Hilton completed a remarkable journey by flying a microlight aircraft from England to Canada and back, famously carrying 200 chocolate bars as fuel for the pilot rather than the plane. In 2016, he attempted to circumnavigate the world in a microlight, though this mission ended in Jordan due to circumstances beyond his control. His record of flights brought him significant honors, including the Britannia Trophy awarded by the Royal Aero Club in 2013 and the Chairman’s Trophy from the British Microlight Aircraft Association the same year. In 2012, he had also won the GPS category of the Round Britain Microlight Rally, further evidence of his skill as a pilot. That same dedication to aviation saw him appointed a trustee of the Microlight Flying Foundation in 2016, supporting the future of the sport in the United Kingdom.
Hilton has shared his flying experiences through two books, Decision Height and Phoenix: 12 Months in a Microlight, both of which detail the challenges and exhilaration of long-distance flights in small aircraft. He currently owns a Flight Design CT microlight manufactured in Ukraine and continues to carry out charity flights in accordance with Civil Aviation Authority regulations. His efforts have raised funds for Clatterbridge Cancer Research Charity, linking his personal passion with a wider social cause.
Away from business and flying, Hilton has built a life that shows the same spirit of challenge and endurance. He lives in Bolton, North West England, with his long-term girlfriend and daughter. He has competed in three Ironman triathlons and seven international marathons. His appetite for challenge has also led him to join the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and swim in a relay team across the English Channel. In martial arts, he has earned a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, an achievement that reflects years of training and discipline.
The arc of Jon Hilton’s career is marked by perseverance through setbacks and an ability to seize opportunities across very different industries. From engineering beginnings and a painful injury, he moved into property and finance, then distinguished himself in lighting projects that transformed landmarks. He went on to create a thriving legal services company from almost nothing and to pursue aviation at a level that brought both awards and recognition. His achievements are balanced by a dedication to endurance sports, family life, and charitable causes. In every aspect, Hilton has demonstrated that building, flying, and leading are not separate threads but interconnected parts of a career that continues to inspire.