 He served as Chairman of Furness Withy, the shipbuilding firm, and was also involved in the steel and iron business.He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Furness in 1912, and in 1918 he was created Viscount Furness, of Grantley in the West Riding of the County of Yorkshire.In November 1929, he was reported as being Laird of the Glen Affric Estate in the Scottish Highlands.