Ed’s tablet proves hard to swallow
This week Labour leader (at least as Diary went to press) Ed Miliband drew widespread mockery from the chattering classes for pledging to erect a giant stone inscribed with key election pledges in Downing Street if he wins the election. Political opponents revelled in the opportunity to dig in on Twitter – among them communities secretary Eric Pickles – while planners were quick to point out not only that the amendments to the listed building would require planning consent, but that Westminster’s overwhelming Tory majority would not be likely to look favourably on the application.
Gunners shooting blanks
Diary came across a new piece of property jargon this week. Gunners (or possibly gonnas). Not the football team that has now failed to win the league title for more than a decade. But the wealth of investors who proclaim their appetite for the private rented sector – EG has tracked more than £3bn of PRS fund launches in the past year – yet to date have failed to actually do any deals. But they’re gunner, apparently…
Nell’s crowning glory
As she gave the second annual Honor Chapman memorial lecture in Cambridge last month, Crown Estate chief executive Alison Nimmo showed her passion for the history of its London holdings – including St James’s, with its aristocrats and reputation for racy living. “I remember studying a map of the area and noticing a tiny slice of the south side of Pall Mall – number 79 – which was not Crown property,” she said. “It turned out to be the house of Nell Gwynn, mistress of Charles II. Nell insisted on being granted the freehold, and her royal lover gave way. Services rendered, you might say…” Not a transaction her finance director would approve of today, she concluded.
The gifts that keep on giving
Last week, Diary asked you to share your property memorabilia with us. Here are two of our favourites. First up, Perkins Fox (@PFRetail) tweeted a rather fetching gift from Hillier Parker May & Rowden (far right) to mark its 60th anniversary back in the heady 1980s – apparently in lieu of a bonus. Surely it’s worth something now? Someone call The Antiques Roadshow. And perhaps tell us what it is. A snuff box? And talking of antiques, how about an Estates Gazette heirloom? After nearly 160 years EG is here to stay – and so are our gifts. Rob Young, estates officer at Darlington borough council, is the proud owner of an EG satchel, given away at one of our Newcastle functions in the mid-1990s. Says Young: “It’s a little frayed around the edges, but who isn’t after 30 years in northern property?” Any more to trump these gems? Email us at newsdesk@egi.co.uk or tweet us @estatesgazette.
Polls to the lot of you
A week ago, 500 property guests were told to “forget all the polls from now on, they don’t mean anything”. This sage advice came from the ex-Conservative cabinet minister and former London mayoral candidate, Steve Norris. Speaking at the IPF’s Midlands lunch at Birmingham’s ICC, Norris offered a revealing insight into how politicians would be feeling close to the big event. But he said there would be a lot of “hovering pencils” in the ballot box, and that he expected the electorate to play safe and veer towards the familiar. He ended with these words of wisdom: “Take any manifesto promises or threats with a pinch of salt. A minority government can’t do much, so don’t worry.”
CBRE brews a winner
Diary is no stranger to the odd digestible marketing ploy – with a stream of branded biscuits, cakes and doughnuts at EG towers (no hint intended). But CBRE upped the ante this week at its central London breakfast, embossing the cappuccinos doled out to guests with the company logo. Cue plentiful jokes about a frothy market…
Bard barred?
Last week’s news about a marketing exercise to possibly rebrand Birmingham International Airport as “Shakespeare’s Airport” for flights to the US and China has met with a frosty reception. One source wasn’t buying into it, however. “If we’re going along that route why don’t we rename the proposed HS2 line as the High Speed Shakespeare 2 (HSS2), or Grand Central shopping centre Bard Central. It’s ridiculous,” he said. Perhaps our source doth protest too much…?
