Ab Fab’s magical MIPIM tour
Last week we went a bit Ab Fab on these very pages when the iconic Cannes Bubble House appeared on the trailer for the new film. Since then, Diary has hotfooted it to the cinema to see Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone back in action. And what a magical MIPIM tour it is. For anyone not au fait with the plot, the Bolly-swigging duo escape London after accidentally “killing” Kate Moss, to take refuge in Cannes. Tearing along the Croisette in an open-top car, fags in hand? Check. Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton hitting the designer shops around the Palais des Festival? Check. And our personal favourite – Eddie and Pats crashing the “late-life lesbo party” at the Martinez. An idea for one of next year’s yacht events perhaps?
Are you a brandlord?
Diary loves the lexicon of property. Ever changing, just like the industry itself. Last week, at the launch of the Real Estate in a Digital Age report by law firm Nabarro, queen of tech Juliette Morgan bandied around two new terms for our urban (realm) dictionary. The first is “brandlords” – those landlords that have become so desired by the young, trendy tech occupiers that they ask for their buildings by name. “People are asking for certain landlords by name where buildings express the landlord,” said Morgan. “Tech occupiers respect that.” The second new term is what landlords need to do to become brandlords. Today (and tomorrow) they need to be “hoteliers of office space”, says Morgan. It’s all about the service, not necessarily about the space.
Finance director’s finesse
For a lesson in how to manage awkward situations, look no further than Grainger finance director Vanessa Simms. Early in her career as an FD, Simms arrived at a finance directors’ forum to find a sea of grey suits. Not to be put off, in strode Simms in her black skirt suit and white shirt. She walked up to one of the grey-suited men and said good morning. The reply? “Oh, could you get me a black coffee please?” Now, Diary’s response probably would have been something unprintable, but Simms first made a mental note not to dress like a waitress again, then she fetched him his coffee. And finally, when the group was ushered into the auditorium for the forum, Simms made sure to sit right next to Mr Black Coffee. Subtle, but devastating.
Finalists in the frame
Last week saw the inaugural EG Awards shortlist party. There was backslapping, handshaking, glass clinking and lots of cocktails. But more importantly, most guests didn’t go home empty-handed, having received outrageously distorted renderings of their faces. Our roving digital caricaturist at London bar, The Fable, EC1, was a hit with the awards finalists, who mostly pointed and laughed at each other’s pictures, while others made for the closest mirror to check the exaggerated features were actually exaggerated. Do you recognise any of these faces? Tweet us at @EstatesGazette.
Small balls, big bids
Concerns about the future of the property industry appeared to be far, far away at Property Race Day as one party shunned public transport to arrive by helicopter. However, one attendee appeared to be having less of a good time. A sweaty chap, rumoured to be from Long Harbour, gamely took on the task of becoming the Ascot horse mascot. Later in the day, TV presenter Jonny Gould took no prisoners as he wielded the gavel in the race day auction. “Question the size of a man’s b******s and he’ll bid on anything,” he asserted, before poking fun at the assembled luminaries. Watch the highlights at
