It’s July, it’s raining, so it must be time for Wimbledon. And, with no tournament being held last year, PR folks were champing at the bit to serve-and-volley up their themed press releases to celebrate.
Estate agent Benham & Reeves noted that “Covid continues to hang over the UK like a rain cloud over Centre Court” and that the pandemic has taken its toll on property values around all four tennis grand slam venues in the past year. The US Open is worst hit, with prices tumbling by 18% in New York’s Flushing Meadows. The Australian Open fares a little better, as Melbourne Park has declined by 10%. Wimbledon comes in with a 6% drop, beaten only by the French Open, where house prices in the 16th arrondissement of Paris have fallen only 2%.
Perhaps they should all introduce more sporting puns into their street names, a recipe for success according to Keller Williams UK. According to its research, on average, homes along tennis-related roads command a “36% house price premium” – with, perhaps predictably, the word “ace” garnering most excitement, to the tune of an £860,000 average value, 226% higher than the national norm. “Wimbledon” itself is second, with “spin”, “love”, “court” and, straightforwardly, “tennis” all among the top seeds.
But by far our favourite opportunistic Wimbledon e-mail comes from Brick This, which makes bespoke Lego sets featuring iconic British buildings and landmarks. Diary has previously featured its take on the RICS HQ, but this week just had to feature its new model of Wimbledon’s Centre Court – up for sale on its website and, thankfully, with retractable roof. Smashing.
Airbnb for flex offices
It’s business 101. Step one: choose a successful brand. Step two: identify what makes it tick. Step three: apply what you have learned to a different, ideally similar, market. Step four: market your new enterprise by saying it is [household name] for [new scenario]. Simple. It’s Uber… for pets! It’s Deliveroo… for pets! It’s Tinder… for pets! Clearly, Diary sucks at coming up with million-dollar ideas. But that can’t be said for entrepreneur Daniel Murray and his new tech start-up, which implored us this week to “Say hello to Narau – the Airbnb to help you find a desk to work near home.” The “revolutionary” Narau app – which was originally created for students but has evolved to help source geographically convenient flexible offices – claims it can save companies £800 a month per employee. It all sounds great, but Diary is far from convinced by the name. We get that, these days, you need a made-up word to own the website and the trademark, but at least with Airbnb you can kind of see the etymology. How do you even say Narau – is it like a strangled-vowel take on “near you”?
Oh what a Circus!
Dan Labbad, chief executive of the Crown Estate, this week shared on LinkedIn his delight to be working with Westminster City Council on recently unveiled plans to transform Oxford Circus into two pedestrian-friendly piazzas that will “become London’s front door”. Others – particularly walkers and cyclists – shared his excitement, and what Diary has seen of the proposals certainly looks enticing. But then, our head is easily turned by pretty pictures. Far less impressed, it seems, is former transport minister and two-time London mayoral candidate Steven Norris. “Not entirely sure you’ve sold me yet,” Norris posted in response to Labbad. “All for greening the city but this from what I can see is going to create as much air pollution as it displaces. No doubt well intentioned but could be a big mistake. Proceed with caution would be my advice.” Sage words at the end there – proceed with caution has always been Diary’s approach to Oxford Circus.
First-class stamp
What gift do you get for a 327th anniversary? How about tens of thousands of pounds, since the celebrant we are talking about is… stamp duty. As the SDLT holiday comes to an end, Chris Ward, CEO of SDLT Compass, took the opportunity to get in touch with a missive titled “327 years of stamp duty: a history of the controversial tax.” And very welcome it was too, teaching Diary that stamp duty was first introduced in England on 28 June 1694, during the reign of William and Mary, under “an act for granting to their Majesties several duties upon vellum, parchment and paper, for four years, towards carrying on the war against France”. Come 1763, the money raised was going towards the Seven Years War in America, and so the Stamp Act 1766 expanded the tax across the Atlantic, leading to the famous outcry of “no taxation without representation” and its swift repeal, albeit too late to stave off the American Revolution. As Ward puts it: “Stamp duty has had a long and varied history, almost as controversial now as it was in 18th century America.” Though fingers crossed that its return from holiday doesn’t trigger upheaval on the same scale.
Contact diary@egi.co.uk
