TV presenter George Clarke and 2005 X-Factor winner Shayne Ward powered up the 932 steps of Tower 42, EC2, in an endurance test to aid homelessness charity Shelter.
The two were among 1,000 runners, including property thrillseekers, who ditched the lifts of the 600ft skyscraper to raise £250,000 in the Vertical Rush challenge.
Clarke, star of The Restoration Man, climbed all 42 flights of stairs in nine minutes 29 seconds, beating Ward by just 77 seconds.
But neither stood a chance against the small army of world tower-climbing elites, including 73-year-old Orival Martins, the oldest person to ever attempt Vertical Rush, who flew from São Paulo, Brazil to take part. In spite of jetlag, he clocked an impressive time of 11 minutes 52 seconds.
Still, it was some way off the winning time of four minutes 12 seconds, clocked by pro Piotr Lobodzinski.
Now in its seventh year, Vertical Rush has raised £1.6m for Shelter’s emergency helpline.
Philip Lewis, chief executive of Kirsh Group, which owns Tower 42, said: “We are happy to be supporting the event. It is the one big thing we do with Shelter at Tower 42 and is something that is close to our hearts in the City of London.
“Although the economy seems to have turned for the better and housing markets, we are told, are booming, there are thousands of people who can’t get a roof over their head. So it seems entirely relevant that a big property investor such as we should be participating with Shelter.”
All’s well that ends well
Agent-cum-charity founder Raymond Rowan earns warrior status this week after his charity, Poverty Relief Foundation, hit the milestone of building 100 wells in the poorest parts of Tanzania.
Fresh water is crucial to the villages spread across the country’s vast plains. The wells mean children make fewer trips to the hospital and therefore can spend more time in school. Fewer sick days for the adults means they can spend more time farming. Thousands of Africans now enjoy this basic lifeline thanks to the charity Rowan co-founded 20 years ago.
Rowan, the founder of Leeds-based property agency Brassington Rowan, said: “When we started constructing the wells nine years ago, I never imagined we would reach even 50, so to get to 100 wells is beyond all expectations.”
Each well is used by up to 500 families. They are dug by local people who then appoint a committee to maintain them.
Semi-retired Rowan runs the charity with long-time associate Mike Madeley and Newcastle-based developer Peter Millican, and 100% of its fundraising is devoted to its projects.
PRF also builds classrooms and offers revolving loans to women to start their own businesses.
Opening doors
Top agents involved in Changing the Face of Property, the collaborative campaign to increase diversity in the industry, opened their doors to year 12 students from London state schools as part of an industry-wide campaign to broaden property’s appeal.
CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ, Gerald Eve, JLL, Knight Frank and Savills made a simultaneous effort to dazzle students by allowing them to shadow teams across their businesses for Insights Week, 16-20 February.
The 35 students, who were spread across agency, industrial, investment, residential, retail and other business lines, engaged with everyone from directors to apprentices.
As well as making site visits, the students learned the basics of running an office and the role of technology.
And since it wouldn’t be property without networking, RICS also invited them to hobnob at its Parliament Square, SW1, headquarters.
Pam Duke, CTFOP programme manager, said: “This is a great chance for students to experience the variety of careers in property and demonstrates the commitment we have to our school partnerships. We plan to make this an annual event.”
rebecca.kent@estatesgazette.com
