Barker Storey Matthews won this year’s Bidwells and Estates Gazette Punting Challenge. The 12th annual event, in which property hotshots race wooden barges down the River Cam in ?Cambridge, marked the firm’s ?first-ever podium placing.
Barker Storey Matthews’ Michael Beardau revealed the team’s winning secret. “The first question we ask in job interviews is ‘Are you any good at punting?’,” he said, “and we found him,” he added, slapping a hand on the shoulder of team-mate Laurence Gerke.
Last year’s winner, Cheffins, was second. The event, on 23 August, saw eight teams race from Scudamores Yard to Quayside and back. Strutt & Parker fought a tight contest against Bidwells for second-from-last place, with both teams reducing to underhand tactics to avoid the wooden spoon. Strutt & Parker’s Tom Parish won the Wettest Competitor prize after diving into the water to ensure his team nosed ahead of their rival.
Check out the Focus blog for videos and more pictures from the event: www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/focus
