It really is a rush-hour crush

Here at EG, many of us suffer the onslaught that is Holborn Tube station at rush hour on a daily basis. Famously overcrowded, the sight of people spilling out across the pavement and into the road as commuters make their way home is a common one. So we were delighted to be reminded by BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones – the guest speaker at this year’s CBRE Christmas press lunch – that the carnage has been acknowledged. In fact, it has become a phenomenon. “The Holborn Problem” was a catchall coined by transport pundit Christian Wolmar to suggest the reason we are still a long way away from driverless vehicles. His point is a good one; that busy areas such as Holborn, where people spill out on to the roads, would render these vehicles stationary for hours as they would be programmed to halt as pedestrians enter the road. A pocket of London that has put the kibosh on the future of transport thanks to overcrowding as a result of the current method of travel reaching capacity. The irony is not lost. Grand designs When it comes to competitive office design, it’s a tech-off for CBRE’s Netherlands and Spanish HQ buildings. The fight to be crowned the best in the business has reached new heights as the agent’s office spaces in Madrid and Amsterdam have gone head-to-head to claim the title. For now, the Spanish team thinks it is one step ahead with its illusionary “cabin in the woods” hidden office space. Your move Amsterdam… better make it a good one. Thank you for the music… For those who missed the Savills Housing Seminar on Monday – I have just found my speaking notes. pic.twitter.com/Q5rCgKHWW1 — Nick Walkley (@HomesNickW) November 28, 2018 Nick Walkley likes his music. Indeed, it is a topic that Diary has landed on before. His Twitter followers will have noted the Homes England chief executive’s new profile pic too. It captures him sipping from a mug emblazoned with the slogan of iconic independent record shop Rough Trade. And while anyone who has heard Walkley present will be familiar with his penchant for referencing a song or an artist in a speech, this is the first time Diary has caught sight of his speaking notes. They are not, shall we say, extensive, though they are remarkably similar to Diary’s Amazon Christmas wish list. Don’t mention the B word Just how bad are things out there? Allsop commercial partner and auctioneer George Walker shared this snippet in a recent podcast: “I was sitting next to the head of lending at a major high retail bank the other day – they’d just had a board meeting in Birmingham and there wasn’t one loan on their books that was in default. “The only thing he did say was that where they had done a 60% LTV loan, actually it may be doing 75-80% when they chose to revalue it. So he didn’t see any finance-driven pressure to sell. “That’s a big difference. In the noughties, it was a massive financial crisis. It took RBS three years to establish the postcode for every loan under £2.5m. It was a roulette wheel of lending. We haven’t got that now.” But don’t get too comfy: “What we have got is the B-word hanging over us; we’ve got Trump waging war against China. Alongside that, we’ve got this generational change happening on the high street. We’re responding to at least three different factors – probably more. But we haven’t got a financial crisis. ” Model material Much has been made of retailers’ shortcomings in merging selling channels, but omnichannel clothing brand Joe Browns has witnessed how they can join together in perfect harmony. On EG’s latest retail podcast, founder Simon Brown recalled a customer encounter in the store at Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. “This Glaswegian chap comes in – he was working down Yorkshire way – and his wife had torn a catalogue page out with the model on it. She’d said: ‘Go and buy everything that guy is wearing’. And he did! I thought: ‘Wow, it doesn’t get much better than that.’” The best things in life are… Diary learnt a lot about retail billionaire Mike Ashley after his appearance before MPs this week. Contrary to popular opinion, the Sports Direct tycoon claimed he is not: Father Christmas; sitting in his office stroking a white cat; a panto villain; a crazy capitalist or, indeed, God. He does, however, like the simple things in life – namely, free glasses from the petrol station. “I want them, because they are free,” he said. “I can’t help it. I definitely don’t need them, but I still want them.” Diary is with you on that one. Bah humbug! ’Tis the season to be merry but for one property agent, there is still plenty to worry about. From falling revenues, to high volumes of work, there was lots on Ebenezer’s mind at a recent Christmas party. Having invited one EG journalist to the bar to explore the depths of his misery (while drinking copious glasses of champagne), he expressed vague hopes that work might pick up in January. But as soon as WeWork came up, he frowned and spat: “I wonder what its valuation will be at the end of 2019”. Before he would say another word on the topic, he asked for more champagne and began brooding gloomily about “disintermediation and the role of the broker”. Then, solitary as an oyster, he disappeared into the crowd of jolly cocktail party guests. Droning on London occupiers are a demanding bunch. Having already aired preferences in Diary for more dog-friendly buildings, elite executives are now requesting drone-landing pads on top of their buildings. One company, which is buying up London rooftops to create a drone port empire, thinks that so-called “vertiports” will become as common as bike facilities in the future. Find out more in EG’s TechTalk Radio podcast with SkyPorts.