Harry Hyams, the developer best known for Centre Point, WC1, has died aged 87.
The son of an East End bookie, Hyams was most active as a developer in the 1960s and 1970s after buying a stake in Oldham Estates group in 1959 for £50,000.
Oldham was eventually sold to MEPC in 1987 for £516m but Hyams remained an active participant in the market.
He retained stakes in three small property companies to his death including Walton Investment.
As well as Centre Point, which famously stood empty on completion due to Hyams’ insistence on leasing to a single tenant, Oldham developed other well known buildings including Lunar House and Apollo House in Croydon and Telstar House in Paddington, W2.
Hyams outlived his wife Kay, who died in 2011 aged 91 and the couple had no children.
