Harry Handelsman (born September 1949) is the founder and CEO of Manhattan Loft Corporation, a London-based property development company.

Early life

Harry Handelsman was born in September 1949, the son of a "well-off Polish financier", Handelsman was born in Munich. He was educated in Germany, Paris and Canada, and has a master's degree in economics from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto. His father died in 1982, and he then took over running the business, and moved to London in 1983.

Career

Handelsman established London-based Manhattan Loft Corporation in 1992. Since then, he has gone on to re-develop "some of London’s most admired buildings", including the

Chiltern Firehouse The Chiltern Firehouse is a restaurant and hotel located at 1 Chiltern Street, Marylebone, London, England occupying the Grade II listed building of the former Marylebone Fire Station, also known as Manchester Square Fire Station. It is owned by ...

and

St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel The St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel forms the frontispiece of St Pancras railway station in St Pancras, London. The station is one of the main rail termini in London and the final stop for international trains departing to Paris, Brussels, ...

Manhattan Loft Corporation developments

Chiltern Firehouse

A collaboration with Andre Balazs, Manhattan Loft Corporation redeveloped the Grade II 19th-century Manchester Square Fire Station into a 26-suite hotel and 200 capacity restaurant. Chiltern Firehouse opened in 2014 after nearly five years of re-development Chiltern Firehouse was designed in conjunction with Studio KO, and, in addition to its 26 suites, includes bar areas and a restaurant run by former Viajante chef Nuno Mendes – whose cuisine has been described as "unique" and "stylish".

Hackney Fashion Hub

Launched in Spring 2016, Manhattan Loft Corporation collaborated with architect David Adjaye to create a designer fashion outlet district in London's Hackney E9.

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Designed by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century, the former Grand Midland Hotel became derelict in the late 20th-century. Planning permission to re-develop the derelict building was granted to Manhattan Loft Corporation in 2004. The upper levels of the gothic structure were developed into 67 apartments, and a 245-room hotel was opened in 2011 after the ten-year restoration work.
The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel remains under Handelsman's ownership

Ealing Studios

Ealing Studios, built in 1902, is Britain's oldest film studio. In the mid-2000s, Handelsman purchased the site along with Fragile Films' Uri Fruchtmann and Barnaby Thompson; all of whom are directors. Manhattan Loft Corporation went on to re-develop the site to include the existing Grade II listed sound stages. Manhattan Loft Corporation remains linked to Ealing Studios as the company is working on the second phase of its restoration and expansion.

Manhattan Loft Gardens

Manhattan Loft Gardens is a 42-storey skyscraper in Stratford, East London. Described by the Huffington Post as "The most beautiful building in the Western world", it has been designed by architects

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

, whose previous projects include the

Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...

.
The double-cantilevered, 135 m tower will include 248 flats, a hotel, a restaurant, and three sky gardens. It is due for completion in 2018.

Awards and recognition

In 2012, it was announced that Handelsman had received an honorary fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Handelsman was listed in the Evening Standard's "Progress 1000" in both 2015 and 2016; a list of London's 1000 most influential people.

Other

Handelsman sits on the board of

Artangel Artangel is a London-based arts organisation founded in 1985 by Roger Took. Directed since 1991 by James Lingwood and Michael Morris, it has commissioned and produced a string of notable site-specific works, plus several projects for TV, film, r ...

, the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

and The

South London Gallery The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its direct ...

Personal life

His "long-term partner" is Elizabeth Crompton-Batt, the former wife of the late restaurant PR Alan Crompton-Batt, and they have a daughter together. They live in Bayswater, London, with Handelsman's flat tailored by Sarah Featherstone. Handelsman also has a daughter from a previous marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handelsman, Harry 1949 births Living people British businesspeople