SITTING in the Regent coffee shop with its panoramic views of Hong Kong is no relaxing pastime for John Dollison. Just looking at the skyline makes the dollar signs flash before his eyes.
Coffee in front of him, he is scouring the horizon for rooftops he can rent, but also making sure that the neon advertising signs jutting prominently from the top of some of the tallest buildings are in good working order. 'I was having a drink last week and noticed the tail of one of the signs had gone out. It bothered me all evening, but then that's why we have photographers who go out at night every two weeks and take pictures so we can check for damage.' Mr Dollison is a signbroker and, rather like an estate agent, his job is to marry the desires of tenants and landlords. 'Sometimes we spot rooftops we think will be suitable for advertising and we rent or buy them and then look for tenants, or we roof-hunt for existing tenants. It's not as easy as it sounds because some clients are easier to accommodate than others simply because of the length of their names. It is, for example, much easier to find a suitable roof for a company like BMW with three letters than for National Panasonic.' Mr Dollison is chief executive of Media Partners International, the company responsible for more than half of the territory's outdoor advertising and many of the prominent neon signs that contribute to the world-famous skyline. It's a spectacle that features on the cover of many a coffee table book, on postcards and is instantly recognisable for its uniqueness.
'Take away the neon signs like the 999, Cup Noodles and some of the others and this skyline wouldn't be the special Hong Kong sight that it is,' says Mr Dollison. There isn't a landlord with a 'neon tenant' who would disagree although their interest is undoubtedly financial rather than aesthetic.
Although neon hoardings are a ubiquitous feature of the Hong Kong landscape, the harbour skyline is the preferred venue for rooftop neon as it offers unobstructed views. Advertisers know this, and so do landlords.
The right roof in the right place spells big bucks for some property owners. According to Ranjan Marwah, a former journalist who brokered Hong Kong's first million-dollar deal, 'the rough rule of thumb is that a rooftop sign in Wan Chai which faces the waterfront brings in the same money as a whole floor of office space'.
So lucrative is this business that the Government is also cashing in with earnings estimated at around $4 million a year for the 999 San Jiu pharmaceutical products sign which sits prominently on the Rumsey Street car park on the Sheung Wan waterfront. The roofs of Wan Chai Towers I and II (also Government owned) are also up for rent.