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FOUNDER STORIES / PAUL REICHMANN

The towers could rise before the cash arrived.

Paul Reichmann turned a Toronto building business into a global office empire. Canary Wharf shows why a valuable place and a solvent owner are different things.

By Ben · Fintok6 min read7 sources ↓
Canary Wharf today from the Thames, 2022245 Park Avenue, 2008 (one of the eight Uris towers)One Canada Square newly finished, 1991
Places from the story · Photo credits ↓
THE NEW YORK PURCHASE1977

Eight former Uris office buildings

THE REPORTED PRICE~US$330m

Including existing mortgage debt

THE LONDON FAILURE1992

Canary Wharf enters administration

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Paul Reichmann, Olympia & York and Canary Wharf: the office acquisitions, borrowing and timing behind the rise and collapse. Join the free newsletter to keep reading.

  • The New York bargain was a leveraged acquisition.
  • Canary Wharf required a district before it had a market.
  • A funding deadline can arrive before a place matures.
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7 sources · Research reviewed October 25, 2026