Diary: Take a look around

If you are passing through the courtyard of Derwent’s White Collar Factory, E1, and can pry your eyes away from your mobile, there’s every chance you will notice a tall, bronze, gilet-wearing version of, well… yourself. In commissioning the Tom Price statue ‘Network’, said to be a depiction of the everyday man of today, we can only assume that Derwent has set out to shame passers-by into pulling their heads away from their phones for a moment and admiring the 293,000 sq ft of loveliness that surrounds them. Or taking a selfie with the statue – it is 2017, after all. Hong Kong shui As if being a central London investment agent isn’t difficult enough at present, one unfortunate broker has seen his next prospective deal scuppered by cultural philosophy and mindfulness. Said agent flew to Hong Kong and agreed to act to buy a trophy asset in London for a super-keen investor – only for the would-be buyer to go distinctly lukewarm on their return trip for a site visit. Rather than being enamoured by its prime location directly next to a train station and major road links, they instead said the angles that said roads and rail lines ran along meant that the feng shui was all wrong and that it was impossible for them to even consider. Perhaps sellers should look at listing such considerations in their marketing particulars from now on? The £64,000 question Estate agent Strutt & Parker guaranteed itself headlines this week by releasing its research findings showing millennial couples how to get on the London housing ladder. Apparently, they can save enough for a £64,000 deposit in five years (albeit with the assumption that parents will contribute) by giving up six “luxuries”. In a possible insight into how Strutt’s agents unwind, cancelling one night out a week would yield more than £6,000 a year – £115 each time – and other savings can be made by cutting out takeaways, shop-bought lunches, an annual foreign city break, the average lottery habit of £832 (£16 a week, really?) and a yearly phone upgrade. Basically, you too can own property in London as long as you give up pretty much everything that comes with living in London. Selfie-identification The chance to bid online for redundant reservoir sites with the potential for conversion has captured the public’s imagination. Lambert Smith Hampton’s auctions team has so far sold around 10 such sites online for Severn Trent Water, and is marketing another five for an online auction opening on 30 November. But interested bidders must register first, providing proof of ID – and that’s where we get into murky waters, it seems. “One lady sent in a photo of herself sitting in her armchair having a cup of tea, grinning,” says LSH head of auctions Oliver Childs. “We got in touch and said: ‘Great photo. Enjoy your tea, but please could we have a copy of your passport?’. We’ve also had a bloke send us a selfie of himself sat in his van.” If you want to get your hands on your own reservoir site, now you know what not to do. Ballymore the merrier With a joint venture that covers major regeneration and development projects across London, not least the transformational waterside district of City Island, the team at EcoWorld Ballymore certainly has its work cut out. But once a year, come festive season, the Ballymore execs down tools for a culturally immersive experience in Kuala Lumpur with their investors. Forget Christmas knits and turkey hats, though. It’s a fancy dress fiesta for the Malaysians, whose guests last year – including chief executive Sean Mulryan – were given strict instructions to dress in the theme of ‘street fighters’. While sadly we were unsuccessful in uncovering photographic evidence of the event, top of our Christmas list this year will be shots of the latest costume line-up, as the theme is ‘fairies’. And there won’t be a drop of Dutch courage for those Ballymore Tinkerbells either – it’s a dry party.