Diary is always delighted to receive holiday snaps from readers, like this one sent in from a property agent vacationing in sunny Malta.
He may be relaxing without a care in the world over there, but he can be sure the CVA zone is waiting for him on his return to the UK.
Paint me a Birmingham
After spending the Easter weekend touring Birmingham’s ever more exciting retail offer – from the world’s largest Lush to the world’s most prodigious Primark – don’t let it be said that Diary doesn’t know how to have a good time.
But even the industry’s most beloved semi-satirical back page deserves a break every now and then, so headed to Birmingham Museum. There we spied a captivating city skyline image, Birmingham 2012, by artist James O’Hanlon.
Largely brand-free, closer inspection revealed one familiar corporate name on the work: DTZ (which rather dates the piece). David Smeeton, head of investment for Cushman & Wakefield’s Birmingham Office, replied to Diary’s tweet pointing out the fact: “Still agents on the building for @Hammersonplc well spotted!”
Smeeton tells Diary that the building that sports the logo is Ladywood House and now forms part of Hammerson’s impressive Grand Central development. Adding: “Planning is being worked up as we speak for an office scheme.” Fingers crossed it too is gallery-worthy.
D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Happy times for Diary at the moment. Last week we had an entry all about death. This week? Divorce.
Word comes in from wealth management company Succession Wealth that an estimated 550 millionaire married couples will split up this year. It doesn’t name names – that, after all, would be tawdry.
But it has crunched the numbers, and reckons that there will be a total of around £1.91bn up for grabs in the divorce proceedings, an average of £3.48m per couple, and of that collective wealth, 31% is held in property. That means a whopping £589.7m of real estate will be affected.
Turns out Brexit isn’t the only messy break-up with major implications for the sector.
Sugar, sugar
File this under “how did they get Diary’s e-mail address?” A message arrives titled: “#BREAKING: Sugar Daddies want Rachael Ray, not Kendall Jenner.” Leaving aside that Diary only has a general sense of who Jenner is, and no clue whatsoever about Ray, they really did put “#BREAKING” in the subject title.
“We all have individual taste when it comes to choosing a partner,” the e-mail reads, “and that is especially true in the sugar dating world.”
Yes, we’re following divorce with “sugar dating”, which one suspects usually happens the other way around. And, according to the “world’s largest sugar dating site”, Seeking Arrangement, “for sugar babies and sugar daddies, the word ‘taste’ is literal.”
Apparently, both sides of the whole sugar arrangement are looking for the same thing in their respective partner. No, not that – it’s cooking. After that, “sugar daddies” look for career success and faithfulness, while “sugar babies” seek muscles and fitness.
“There is this widespread notion that sugar dating is something very superficial,” says Brandon Wade, founder and chief executive of Seeking Arrangement, before making a game attempt to dispel that view.
“But that is just another misconception about our community. Sugar daddies and sugar babies are looking for companionship with like-minded people who can elevate their lifestyle, maybe even through something as simple as cuisine, above all else.”
Sadly, size of property portfolio doesn’t rank in the list, so any would-be sugar parents out there (Diary, at least, is all for gender equality) better start brushing up their skills in the kitchen.
Green book
As preparations continue for EG’s big move to the City, it became necessary to tackle the big cupboard full of treasures from our past as a book publisher.
Diary took on the task of whittling down the EG Books collection, and retaining one of each that it found for posterity. However, it made sure to hand an extra copy of this particular tome to our ever-busy retail reporters.
Planning for Shops must surely be as vital now as it was back in 1990, when Keith Thomas wrote in his introduction: “As we have become more affluent we have spent more in shops.”
Hmm, on second thoughts, perhaps an update is warranted?
