The property industry has considerable influence to wield, and it is hugely important for our leading lights to make their voices heard. Ideally, they would be championing the cause of D&I or ESG, but not in this Diary story, alas.
Here we are noting the billionaire property players who took to Twitter and the press to offer their “unwavering support” to Boris Johnson, ahead of his triumphant/pyrrhic (delete as per political inclination) confidence vote victory.
“Wasting months of precious time on a leadership challenge would be foolish,” an open letter from 22 senior (and seemingly persuasive) party donors warned rebellious MPs. “In our view, it would not be forgiven by the British people.” Unlike the odd illegal drinks party, say?
Among the signatories were Telereal Trillium boss Graham Edwards, Midlands property tycoon Sir Tony Gallagher, Richard Harpin, who is about to make a killing selling Homeserve, Redrow founder Steve Morgan, franchise king and property investor Fazan Tahir and Newcastle United co-owner Simon Reuben.
“The country needs leadership and answers now – and our prime minister is the best person to do that job,” they chorused. Well, they are party donors after all. And the PM sure knows how to throw a party.
Runners and riders
As for the confidence vote itself, where does that leave us? Fancying a flutter (and hopeful of building a suitable nest egg that might enable us to actually have the heating on next winter), Diary headed straight down to the local bookmaker’s to check the market on next prime minister.
The Tory front-runner, it seems, is Jeremy Hunt (easier to name correctly in print than on live TV) at 6/1, ahead of Penny Mordaunt (8/1), Tom Tugendhat (9/1), Liz Truss (10/1) and Rishi Sunak, who has drifted out to a decidedly non-dishy 12-1 (all odds correct at time of writing). Then there is a bunch of people nobody has heard of, before you get to the long-shots of Dominic Raab (28/1), Michael Gove (29-1) and Priti Patel (50/1).
Mindful that even those kinds of winnings may not be enough to pay the gas bill come November, Diary enquired after its own MP, Nadine Dorries: 209/1 to be next Conservative leader, but not even priced in the PM race. Worth a fiver flutter?
But the overall favourite to be the next incumbent through the door of Number 10, with odds of 5/1, is Keir Starmer. We wonder what the correspondents listed in the lead story above might have to write about that.
Who let the dog out? Who, O-O-O
Anyone urgently e-mailing BNP PRE senior director Simon Knights in the run-up to the Platinum Jubilee weekend was in for disappointment… though that would soon turn to joy once they had read his “out-of-office” reply in full.
Channelling the work of 19th century poet and novelist Charles Kingsley, it has entered into legend at the firm as a sublime example of the unlikely art form. Heading away from his desk for a well-earned break, Knights signed off with the following:
“When all the world was young, lad
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad
And every lass a queen;
Then hay for boot and horse, lad,
And around the world away!
Young blood must have its course, lad;
And every dog his day.
Consider this old dog around the world away until Monday 6th June 2022.”
An experiment in excrement
While we’re talking dogs, we should bear in mind what tends to follow in their wake. In 2021, it was estimated that 59% of households had pets, of which 12.5m were of the canine variety – a number boosted by the pandemic. Inevitably, the housing industry must adapt to the implications.
Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention… and a pretty important necessity has been driving the inventive minds at BTR operator Navana Property. For householders first bringing a furry friend onto the premises, it has started a service taking DNA swabs… of dog poo.
You see, Navana offers dog parks in its developments and, naturally, encourages residents to clean up after their pooches. And now, thanks to the appliance of science, if it finds any nasty surprises left on its land, it will know at exactly whose door to leave the blame (though almost certainly not the evidence).
A plug’s a plug
When an e-mail arrives promising to “transform international offices”, Diary drops everything to give this missive our complete and undivided attention.
What could this world-changing revelation be? An entirely new approach to hybrid working? An environmental breakthrough that could help us on the path to net zero? A microwave that completely filters out the smell of fish from your colleague’s lunch?
Excited, we read on. “Legrand UK & Ireland has bolstered its market-leading Intersoc range,” we are told, “with the launch of Intermod, providing offices a completely flexible under-desk power solution.” So, an extension lead?
Share your tales from the quirky side of the property industry by e-mailing diary@eg.co.uk
