A cunning strategy has been devised for functionalizing and solubilizing subphthalocyanines at the central boron atom, so that the inherent photophysical properties remain intact. The approach, which leads to the formation of a stable B-C[triple bond]C linkage, is demonstrated by the isolation of two shape-persistent, photo-active molecular-scale dyads, each capable of multiple energy-transfer steps (see scheme, S = singlet energy transfer; T = triplet energy transfer).