Manchester-based property developer and entrepreneur Yousef Tishbi died on 16 February, aged 72.
Tishbi suffered from a complicated illness that began two years ago.
Having moved to the UK from Iran in 1979, Tishbi founded Realty Estates in 1985. He also ran Apex Self Storage, which is headquartered in Hulme.
Tishbi is believed to have been the largest industrial landowner in east Manchester at one point in the 1990s.
He had been involved in some of Manchester’s most prominent developments, including the 5.4-acre former BBC site on Oxford Road, which was sold to Bruntwood in 2015.
Others included the former Boddingtons brewery site in central Manchester, which is set to house Manchester College’s city campus, and Gateway House, also known as the Lazy S building, next to Piccadilly Station.
Yonni Abramson, Tishbi’s son-in-law, described Tishbi as a “dynamic, powerful influence in the property industry”.
“He was such a huge character and I am so proud to be his son-in-law,” said Abramson. “He always thought about things in a different way – he believed you could put a square peg in a round hole.
“He did things in a disruptive way, but with a twinkle in his eye. People loved doing business with him.”
Tishbi is survived by his wife Jaleh, his three daughters Angela, Natasha and Claudia, and five grandchildren.
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