Harry Hyams: The Empty Skyscraper Strategy
Harry Hyams built Centre Point in London and famously left it completely empty for years, proving that capital growth can sometimes eclipse rental income.
In the 1960s, a secretive developer named Harry Hyams executed one of the most controversial commercial property strategies in London's history. He built Centre Point, a 34-storey modernist skyscraper at the intersection of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road.
The Profit of Empty Spaces
When the building was completed in 1966, Hyams struggled to find a single corporate tenant willing to take the entire building. Instead of letting it out floor-by-floor, he left the entire 34-storey tower completely empty for nearly a decade. During this time, London was experiencing a massive commercial property boom and soaring inflation.
Hyams realised that the capital appreciation of the empty building was rising far faster than any rental income he could generate. Furthermore, an empty building without tenants was vastly easier to sell to institutional investors. The sight of a massive empty skyscraper during a national housing crisis caused public outrage and sparked squatters' protests, eventually forcing the government to introduce the 'empty property rate' tax to discourage the practice.