RICS HQ becomes Pokestop
There are many ways that landlords can ensure their properties attract the crowds. State-of-the-art connectivity, an in-house cinema, high-tech gym facilities, even sleep pods. And now, thanks to gaming giant Nintendo, there’s a new way for buildings to get on the map. Last week’s UK launch of the firm’s augmented reality game Pokémon Go has seen Pokémon characters turn up in the offices of building consultant TFT, while the RICS HQ in London’s Parliament Square has become a Pokestop. No, Diary didn’t know what that was either. For those yet to get into the latest craze, it is a location for gamers to visit to pick up items to enhance gameplay. Go figure.
Mi casa es tu casa
In this hard-and-fast game of real estate, who can afford to miss a trick when there’s a deal in it? Not the sales team at London Executive Offices. The company is owned by Jason Kow’s Queensgate Investments, which is based at one of London Executive Offices’ serviced offices in Hill Street, W1. One prospective client being shown around the offices took a liking to Kow’s own meeting room, at which point the host’s quick-as-lightning sales instinct kicked in, and LEO leased it on the spot. The fact that it wasn’t technically available was irrelevant. And the fact that it was the boss’s gaff? Well, you can’t argue with revenue growth.
The branches of government
One way to prove you weren’t expecting a ministerial promotion is to be halfway up a tree when you receive the call from the prime minister. That was the situation MP Gavin Barwell found himself in on Saturday afternoon, midway through sawing off a branch, when new Conservative leader Theresa May informed him he was the new housing and planning minister. Receiving the surprising news while halfway up a tree led Barwell to joke that Croydon Central came close to needing a by-election.
Fries with that position?
The new minster for the Northern Powerhouse was so surprised to be called to the role that he initially thought the phone call from Downing Street was a joke. Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy said that despite never having chased a ministerial role in his life he accepted the post “as a proud Northerner”. How did he celebrate? Not with a fancy lunch, but by having a McDonald’s.
Mansell in pole for Spexit
When Britain voted to Brexit, it prompted myriad more questions than answers, with one being what will happen to the rights of the two million or so British expats living in continental Europe? Perhaps not wanting to find out, Nigel Mansell has put his four-bedroom villa in Mallorca on the market. Could the former Formula One champion be the celeb in pole position for a Spexit?
Designed in good taste
If you ask architects to produce a tasty dish that represents their particular firm, the results will be interesting. That was the premise of last week’s Archichef 2016 event. Had there been an award for the most literal representation of a firm’s area of expertise, it would have to have gone to this hotel and hospitality specialist, with its dish entitled Room Service. But can you name the company?
