Geoffrey Wilson, the founder of developer Greycoat, has died aged 87.
Sir Stuart Lipton, with whom Wilson co-founded Sterling Land in 1971 and Greycoat in 1976, described him as “a consummate property man” and credited his former colleague with inspiring his own love of architecture. “He was always a keen exponent of good architecture as good business,” Lipton said.
Early projects that Wilson oversaw at Greycoat included 1 Finsbury Avenue, EC1, and Cutlers Gardens, a 600,000 sq ft scheme near Liverpool Street, backed by Standard Life.
Later, after Lipton left the company to establish Stanhope, Wilson and Ron Spinney – who went on to become chief executive and then chair of Hammerson – led the work on Embankment Place, a Terry Farrell-designed scheme over Charing Cross station.
That project saw Greycoat piece together a plan after buying a vault beneath the station. Chris Strickland, chairman of CO-RE, who worked at Greycoat for almost 20 years until 2000, said the vision came from Wilson.
“He spotted the opportunity there, something that grew from small seeds,” Strickland said. “He had this vision of building above Charing Cross Station. I don’t think many others would have seen that and seen how to get the toehold in that allowed us to be able to develop it.”
Strickland said Wilson had been “a great mentor” in the early years of his career. “He was a hard taskmaster, but that’s what you would expect. He was chair of a public company in the days when it was a very exciting time for property companies and developers.”
Strickland added: “In those days, particularly in the 1980s, he and others were giants,” Strickland said. “We were doing amazing work, developments and property ownership, and transforming the London landscape. He was as responsible as anybody for that.”
After retiring, Wilson continued to hold influential posts in the industry, including chairing the steering committee behind English Heritage’s review of heritage protection in the early 2000s.
Friends and former colleagues recalled Wilson’s love of cars, the arts, and of entertaining. “Whenever you were out with him, you’d be having a good time,” said Lipton. “He was a terrific chap – someone I will miss.”
Wilson is survived by his wife Marilyn; their three children, James, Sophie and Annabel; and grandchildren Louis, Violet, Lydia, Daisy and Kalman.
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