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{{for|the British musician|Gary Benson (musician)}} |
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'''Harry John Hyams''' (2 January 1928 – 19 December 2015) was a British millionaire who made his money as a speculative property |
'''Harry John Hyams''' (2 January 1928 – 19 December 2015) was a British millionaire who initially made his money as a speculative property developer. He was best known as the developer of the [[Centre Point]] office building in London.[[File:Centre Point London.jpg|thumb|[[Centre Point]], London]] |
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In 2008, a raid at Ramsbury Manor by [[the Johnson Gang]] was described as the biggest ever private burglary in England.<ref>{{cite news|title=Five jailed for biggest burglary|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7544650.stm|accessdate = 6 August 2008|date=6 August 2008}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Ramsbury-Manor.jpg|thumb|Ramsbury Manor, Ramsbury]] |
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[[File:Centre Point London.jpg|thumb|[[Centre Point]], London]] |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Hyams was born in [[Hendon]], [[Middlesex]]. His father was an importer |
Hyams was born in a Jewish family in [[Hendon]], [[Middlesex]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thejc.com/news/centre-point-developer-property-giant-harry-hyams-has-died-aged-87-v3id6hif | title=Centre Point developer, property giant Harry Hyams, has died aged 87 }}</ref> His father was an importer. After private schooling he joined an advertising agency, then joined an estate agency and switched to property development.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/20/harry-hyams|title=Harry Hyams obituary|last=Brewerton|first=David|date=20 December 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=23 April 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Hyams made much of his fortune developing office space in London at a time in the 1960s and 1970s when rents there were rising significantly. He preferred to find single, blue-chip tenants for his properties, having them fully repair and insure the buildings they occupied, as is common with commercial property in the UK. This approach enabled Hyams to manage a valuable and |
Hyams made much of his fortune developing office space in London at a time in the 1960s and 1970s when rents there were rising significantly. He preferred to find single, [[Blue chip (stock market)|blue-chip]] tenants for his properties, having them fully repair and insure the buildings they occupied, as is now common with commercial property in the UK. This approach enabled Hyams to manage a valuable and sizeable property business with a staff of just six. It was also used by him as justification for keeping his 33-storey Centre Point development empty for years after its completion: he claimed he could find no tenant willing to lease all {{convert|202000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of space.<ref>{{cite news|title=Harry's Sore Point|website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906178-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226144820/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906178-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2012|access-date=6 August 2008|date=24 July 1972}}</ref> |
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==Praise and controversy== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2016}} |
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Hyams met with both praise and controversy for his approach. Property developer Sir [[Stuart Lipton]] called him “the first man to recognise the importance of skilled planning and development”. But Hyams and his building Centre Point became a focus for protest against what some saw as the greed of profit-driven developers. |
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==Private life== |
==Private life== |
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In 1954 he married his wife Kay in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Tanz |first=Meryl |url=http://www.nwnannouncements.co.uk/23626334-memorial-hyams-kathleen-therese-kay|title=HYAMS Kathleen Therese (KAY): Memorial|website=Nwnannouncements.co.uk|accessdate=20 December 2015}}</ref> She died 1 February 2011, aged 91.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/announcements/deaths/in_memoriam/10196373.Kathleen_Hyams|title=Kathleen Hyams obituary|website=Gazetteandherald.co.uk|date=1 February 2011|accessdate=20 December 2015}}</ref> On 19 December 2015, Hyams died at the age of 87.<ref>[ |
In 1954 he married his wife Kay in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Tanz |first=Meryl |url=http://www.nwnannouncements.co.uk/23626334-memorial-hyams-kathleen-therese-kay|title=HYAMS Kathleen Therese (KAY): Memorial|website=Nwnannouncements.co.uk|accessdate=20 December 2015}}</ref> She died 1 February 2011, aged 91.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/announcements/deaths/in_memoriam/10196373.Kathleen_Hyams|title=Kathleen Hyams obituary|website=Gazetteandherald.co.uk|date=1 February 2011|accessdate=20 December 2015}}</ref> On 19 December 2015, Hyams died at the age of 87.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12060129/Property-developer-Harry-Hyams-has-died-aged-87.html Notice of death of Harry Hyams], telegraph.co.uk; accessed 20 December 2015.</ref> |
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Between the mid-1960s and 2010, Hyams owned the classic {{convert|64|m|abbr=on}} motor yacht [[MY Shemara|''Shemara'']], although he is thought to have made little use of her.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/owners-experiences/on-board-with-sir-charles-dunstone-owner-of-classic-yacht-shemara--27171 |title=On board with Sir Charles Dunstone, owner of classic yacht Shemara |date=27 July 2015 | first1=Stewart |last1=Campbell |first2=Sacha |last2=Bonsor |work=Boat International |accessdate=25 November 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126183052/https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/owners-experiences/on-board-with-sir-charles-dunstone-owner-of-classic-yacht-shemara--27171 |archivedate=26 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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In 1965 Hyams bought [[Ramsbury Manor]], near Marlborough, Wiltshire, and surrounding land for £650,000 – said at the time to be the highest price paid for a private house in England.<ref name=":0" /> In 2008, a raid at Ramsbury Manor by [[the Johnson Gang]] was described as the biggest ever private burglary in England.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7544650.stm|title=Five jailed for biggest burglary|date=6 August 2008|accessdate=6 August 2008}}</ref> In his will, Hyams gave the house and his collections of fine art<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/dec/14/turner-stubbs-true-radicals-british-art-harry-hyams|title=Forget the modernists – Turner and Stubbs are Britain's true radicals|last=Jones|first=Jonathan|date=14 December 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=23 April 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and cars to the nation via his Capricorn Foundation, in a bequest reported to be worth £450m.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/13/centrepoint-developer-harry-hyams-leaves-huge-art-collection/|title=Centrepoint developer Harry Hyams leaves huge art collection to the nation in £487m will|last1=Sawer|first1=Patrick|date=13 December 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=23 April 2017|last2=Limbrick|first2=Sarah|language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://news.scotsman.com/arts.cfm?id=171132006 News report about Ramsbury Manor thefts], scotsman.com |
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*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/4673840.stm News report about Ramsbury Manor thefts (#1)], bbc.co.uk |
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*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6036753.stm News report about Ramsbury Manor thefts (#2)], bbc.co.uk |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyams, Harry}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyams, Harry}} |
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[[Category:1928 births]] |
[[Category:1928 births]] |
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[[Category:2015 deaths]] |
[[Category:2015 deaths]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:British businesspeople in real estate]] |
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[[Category:Businesspeople in real estate]] |
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[[Category:Disease-related deaths in England]] |
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[[Category:People from Hendon]] |
[[Category:People from Hendon]] |
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[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]] |
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Latest revision as of 06:03, 17 November 2024
Harry John Hyams (2 January 1928 – 19 December 2015) was a British millionaire who initially made his money as a speculative property developer. He was best known as the developer of the Centre Point office building in London.
Early life
[edit]Hyams was born in a Jewish family in Hendon, Middlesex.[1] His father was an importer. After private schooling he joined an advertising agency, then joined an estate agency and switched to property development.[2]
Career
[edit]Hyams made much of his fortune developing office space in London at a time in the 1960s and 1970s when rents there were rising significantly. He preferred to find single, blue-chip tenants for his properties, having them fully repair and insure the buildings they occupied, as is now common with commercial property in the UK. This approach enabled Hyams to manage a valuable and sizeable property business with a staff of just six. It was also used by him as justification for keeping his 33-storey Centre Point development empty for years after its completion: he claimed he could find no tenant willing to lease all 202,000 sq ft (18,800 m2) of space.[3]
Private life
[edit]In 1954 he married his wife Kay in Chelsea.[4] She died 1 February 2011, aged 91.[5] On 19 December 2015, Hyams died at the age of 87.[6]
Between the mid-1960s and 2010, Hyams owned the classic 64 m (210 ft) motor yacht Shemara, although he is thought to have made little use of her.[7]
In 1965 Hyams bought Ramsbury Manor, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, and surrounding land for £650,000 – said at the time to be the highest price paid for a private house in England.[2] In 2008, a raid at Ramsbury Manor by the Johnson Gang was described as the biggest ever private burglary in England.[8] In his will, Hyams gave the house and his collections of fine art[9] and cars to the nation via his Capricorn Foundation, in a bequest reported to be worth £450m.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Centre Point developer, property giant Harry Hyams, has died aged 87".
- ^ a b Brewerton, David (20 December 2015). "Harry Hyams obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Harry's Sore Point". Time. 24 July 1972. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ Tanz, Meryl. "HYAMS Kathleen Therese (KAY): Memorial". Nwnannouncements.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^ "Kathleen Hyams obituary". Gazetteandherald.co.uk. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^ Notice of death of Harry Hyams, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 20 December 2015.
- ^ Campbell, Stewart; Bonsor, Sacha (27 July 2015). "On board with Sir Charles Dunstone, owner of classic yacht Shemara". Boat International. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Five jailed for biggest burglary". 6 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ Jones, Jonathan (14 December 2016). "Forget the modernists – Turner and Stubbs are Britain's true radicals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick; Limbrick, Sarah (13 December 2016). "Centrepoint developer Harry Hyams leaves huge art collection to the nation in £487m will". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2017.