Chairman Roger’s no longer board
How times have changed! Roger Southam, chairman and chief executive of property management firm Chainbow was on parade as master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors at the Lord Mayor’s Show in the City of London last weekend. Amid all the pomp and ceremony, Southam found time for a natter with British Olympian Jessica Ennis, pictured. It is a far cry from when Southam was in his first Lord Mayor’s Show 30 years ago. Back then, he featured as a “To Let” board for Jones Lang Wootton.
What a lot of confusion
After the best part of four decades as an auctioneer, John Barnett thought he had seen everything. But a surprise came from an unlikely quarter last week, when he attempted to auction the first lot in a sale. As he called for bids, shouts rang out from the auction room that lot 1 was actually lot 3. Soon others chimed in, claiming lot 1 was actually lot 5. After halting the sale to investigate, Barnett discovered the printers had produced three different versions of the catalogue with three different lot 1s. Diary was pleased to hear Barnett eventually sold lot 1 – a pair of Robbie Williams tickets – and raised a total of £23,000 at the sale: a charity auction for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Banking on third place
The Bank of England Property Forum committee is not known for its wisecracking ways, but Diary hears there was much guffawing at the latest gathering when one member asked what comes after prime and secondary. One of the wittier committee members piped up: “It’s what RBS and Lloyds own.”
Cabinet of curiosities
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The Cabinet Office certainly appears to have adopted that mantra with the tendering of the Government Procurement Service’s four-year Estates Professional Service framework. Agents were due to submit their tenders this week for a place on the £120m framework to carry out government work. But there has been more than a little confusion about the process, with the Cabinet Office receiving 98 requests for clarification, which has led it to re-issue the tender notice five times in a month. And that is despite the fact that the forms only ask suppliers to tick a few boxes and answer four written questions. Unlike previous tenders, agents will not have to produce evidence of their full range of services. But there is a requirement for a detailed list of agency fees – no prizes for guessing what agents will be judged on, then…
Croydon calling –Westfield waits to hear
The very public battle for control of Croydon town centre continues. Just weeks after Hammerson revealed the results of a survey that showed only 21% of Croydon residents want a giant mall built in the south London town, rival developer Westfield has announced its own fresh plans to engage with locals in a bid to regenerate the area. The Australian firm is to hold an hour-long “Telephone Town Hall”, similar to a radio phone-in show, on 21 November, which will allow anyone in Croydon to speak with Westfield on its plans from the comfort of their own home or office. Westfield’s director of development, John Burton, said the move is to ensure the public have their say in what is right for the town.
