We all know property is a game of connections, but this one’s top of the class. Diary hears that surveyor Andy Hellier has been instructed to sell Portsmouth’s Grade-II listed Old Grammar School.
A nice little job, to be sure, but not just any old instruction. Hellier was once the head boy there, back in 1994.
Clearly, he made quite the impression – most people just get invited back for school reunions, not to shift the entire campus. That’s got to be worth a prefect’s badge in real estate.
Second Dan
How many Dan Smiths in property is too many? Two, it turns out – if you’re a Leeds restaurant during the week of UKREiiF.
Dan Smith of RESI Consultancy took to LinkedIn to resolve the issue when a venue tried to cancel his table because they had two bookings under the same name at the same time.
Luckily, he had experience of being accidentally tagged in posts by the operational capital markets team at Savills, so wrote to them asking the “other” Dan Smith to give the restaurant a call.
Smith (the RESI one) offered more insights into the plight of Dan Smiths everywhere, adding: “While we’re at it, Dan, what’s your experience with Passport E-Gates? I can never use it as apparently Dan Smith is the most commonly cloned name for fake passports. I’ll probably see you in the Assistance line at some point.”
Meet the team: Evelina Grecenko, senior reporter
What first brought you to the UK from Lithuania, and have you grown to love it here?
Long story short: I came to the UK to study, got my journalism degree and since then I do what I love and love what I do.
You enjoy hearing new English sayings, what are your favourites you have picked up?
“Don’t quote me on this,” because that’s where the juiciest part of the conversation starts. I think it is also the way that industry people express trust and that means a lot to me. In all seriousness, I am a huge fan of sayings, and I think it’s typical for a journalist, as we are very much used to quoting people. I’m also a bit old-fashioned in the way that I believe that all the greatest things were already said.
I always ask reporters why their beat is the best, so what makes life sciences the coolest for you?
So, the best or the coolest? The former, it’s the community; the latter, the -80C freezers! It is the sector where you must go all in or fold, there is no other option. It is a relatively small community, but I’ve never seen anyone more passionate about what they do than life sciences players. I’ve been very lucky to chat to some developers in the sector, who were incredibly bold in breaking the boundaries and bringing forward one-of-a-kind, new-build projects or converting former breweries, spaghetti factories and Grade II listed buildings. It’s amazing, if you think about how many people are involved in that, from planners, architects, agents to engineers, health and safety people, procurement… it’s a long list.
You cover regional trends and are based in the North West, what are the best things about Liverpool?
Again, it all comes down to the people. Everything in relation to the previous question applies here, too, including the freezing cold. I don’t distinguish my northern correspondent and life sciences reporter roles, nor do some other well-known names in the industry who also choose to be based in this region.
What keeps you busy when you aren’t working?
I’ll go extremely nerdy here with the saying “choose the job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”, although it is equally true to say, “choose the job you love, and you will end up working all day, everyday”.
Finally Evelina, tell us: who is Lord Thomas?
Oh, it’s the fluffy guy behind the scenes, the co-author, the first sub and the owner of the paw that stamps my copy before it goes live. If there is anything aside from life sciences and regional trends that I could write about with passion, it’s this chunky cat.
