Diary: Real hot stuff at Legal & General
The heat is on among Legal & General’s real assets division, as it goes green-thumbed in a red-hot desktop chilli-growing competition.
The rules are eye-wateringly stringent, with strict limits on pot sizes and germination times. But since variety is the spice of life, different seeds are permitted. However, genetic modification may result in fingers being burnt.
Judges will test the produce on spiciness and aesthetics, but it will be in the event of a draw that they will really turn up the heat. The winner will then be decided by a chilli-eating competition, with the first to flinch being extinguished and the winner riding their blazing saddle to glory.
The heat is on among Legal & General’s real assets division, as it goes green-thumbed in a red-hot desktop chilli-growing competition.
The rules are eye-wateringly stringent, with strict limits on pot sizes and germination times. But since variety is the spice of life, different seeds are permitted. However, genetic modification may result in fingers being burnt.
Judges will test the produce on spiciness and aesthetics, but it will be in the event of a draw that they will really turn up the heat. The winner will then be decided by a chilli-eating competition, with the first to flinch being extinguished and the winner riding their blazing saddle to glory.
Diary promises to keep you all updated on the result. In the meantime we’ll try to conjure up some new puns, but for now we’re sure you’ll agree we’re on fire.
It was this big…
Still at Legal & General, when he’s not presiding over major regional regeneration schemes, build-to-rent portfolios and the like, head of real assets Bill Hughes is fishing his way into the record books. Speaking on EG’s Tomorrow’s Leaders podcast, Hughes reveals he holds the record for reeling in the biggest salmon in Scottish waters – at a whopping 36.5lb. He didn’t, alas, get a picture, however, he assures us that the catch was recorded in the November 2016 issue of Trout & Salmon magazine. Read more about Hughes here.
The drone zone
What’s the must-have requirement for new office space in 2017? If you answered “a drone landing pad”, then get yourself down to Bristol, sharpish. That’s exactly what Cubex Land and Palmer Capital are including for use by occupiers of Aurora at Finzels Reach, their 95,000 sq ft BREEAM outstanding development in the city. Under construction as Bristol’s only speculative office building, Aurora will be replete with a drone pad for all those inbound parcels. According to Cubex’s Gavin Bridge, it’s all part of the company’s “ahead of the curve” thinking, and Diary can see how this is one for the future. When we finally get those jet packs, it could be adapted into a landing zone for cutting-edge commuters.
Can Xu dig it? Yes he can
“In China we say it takes 10 years to build a good sword”, said ABP chairman Xu Weiping (centre) this week at the ground-breaking ceremony of Royal Albert Dock, E16. In the UK, he has learnt it can also take a decade to go from project conception to planning and finally to project initiation. He may not have got his hands on a blade but he did brandish something special for the task alongside UK international trade minister Greg Hands (left) – a golden shovel.
The overriding philosophy at Chiswick Park, W4, according to its branding, is “Enjoy-Work”, and occupiers such as PepsiCo, Starbucks and Danone seem to appreciate the link between a fun working environment and commercial success.
The latest wheeze is a 300m zip wire running the length of the park, which gives office workers the chance to whizz along at speeds of up to 70mph. But before it could be opened to regular patrons, it had to be tested. So who did asset manager and part-owner Blackstone enlist to take on the job? Why, its leasing agents of course. CBRE’s Luke Hacking and Savills’ Mark Gilbart-Smith joined Blackstone’s Nick Pearce in a hair-raising trial run. How’s that for client service above and beyond?
