Good morning. And what a crypto-tastic morning it has been too.
It’s official, the first metaverse mansion has hit the market. A snip at £29m (or the equivalent in cryptocurrency) for a manor house you can own both in real life and digitally – because that home cinema and your own private bowling alleys aren’t quite enough in reality alone.
But hold on, because it isn’t all sweeping staircases and palatial grounds in the world of crypto this morning. Far from it. In other news, the Financial Stability Board, which makes recommendations to the G20 nations on financial rules, has warned that cryptocurrencies could see global financial instability “escalate rapidly”. Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, the board wasn’t too bothered about the risks posed by crypto. Why? Because, in its own words, it felt “comfortable” that there was no material risk from crypto because of its size and lack of connectivity to traditional financial markets. How times have changed.
From one looming crisis to the next, we ask some big questions around ESG this week and one in particular: how? This is the word that will spark action. Action that desperately needs to be taken by the world in general and the real estate sector specifically. The simple truth is that we have run out of time to ask why we need to address ESG urgently and vehemently without the promise of short-term financial reward. But rest assured that the medium to long-term outlook for those who ask how rather than why is likely to be significantly brighter.
In other news, real estate investment firm the Valesco Group is moving to a new office in London’s Mayfair as it maps out expansion plans. The firm, led by chief executive Shiraz Jiwa, will relocate from its 1,000 sq ft office at 11 Bruton Street, W1, to the nearby 25 Berkeley Square, owned by Lazari Investments.
Rolls-Royce’s plans for a nuclear reactor network rumble on as regulators begin safety assessments of the proposals.
More tough stats to swallow from the ONS as the average cost of renting in the UK saw the largest annual increase since 2017 in 2021 fuelling the already raging cost-of-living crisis.
And finally, campaigners have made an 11th-hour plea for the Silvertown Tunnel to be scrapped before construction starts in spring this year. They argue that the project would be “devastating” for a local borough that is “already the most polluted in the UK”.
