Downing Street answered one crucial question this week. This was not which set of strict Covid-19 Tier restrictions we will be living under when we emerge from lockdown on Wednesday - a decision which appears to have caused consternation amongst Tory backbenchers - nor even whether separate households will be able to meet up for Christmas. We can, just cautiously. No, the crucial answer came in the form of a letter to 8-year-old Monti (on Downing Street official letterhead, no less) confirming that Father Christmas will be able to deliver presents this year in spite of the pandemic. The PM assured youngsters that Father Christmas is raring to go and that, provided they leave some hand sanitizer next to the mince pies and Santa "behaves in his usual responsible way and works quickly", there is no risk to health. The Weekly would question whether it is really responsible for a man of Santa's age (and, dare we say it, physique) to be climbing down chimneys in the middle of the night, but we are delighted all the same!
This week, Deloitte Real Estate's aptly titled survey, ‘A state of suspension’, provided a snapshot of the London office development pipeline in which developers, funders and occupiers are all pausing for reflection. No surprise here, given that the empty streets of the City for most of this year have mirrored post-apocalyptic scenes from the film 28 days later (minus the Zombies that is!). The report confirms that the last six months have seen a sharp contraction in the rate of new starts (down 50% after a record Q1 2020) but encouragingly are still in line with the long-term average. Despite the pandemic, a total of 15.1m sq ft of office space is currently under construction (117 schemes) of which almost 50% is in the City and 15% in the West End. And, notably, 45% of this space under construction is pre-let, with the TMT sector taking 38% of the space. That said, Deloitte highlights that some completions have been delayed and developers are concerned about the weak leasing market. They opine that office demand is expected to drop by around 15% in terms of square footage as a result of a trend towards homeworking, that will only be partly offset by lower density occupation, as well as the availability and increased cost of funding. It seems that both occupiers and developers are adopting a "wait and see" approach where possible, which at least means the market won't be battling with huge oversupply in the short term as the market adapts to the new working trends we are all now expecting.
On Wednesday, Argentina bid farewell to a national icon following the death of footballer Diego Maradona at the age of 60. Having made his professional debut as a prodigiously talented fifteen year old, Maradona is perhaps best remembered for humiliating England in the 1986 World Cup Quarter Final (who can forget the infamous "hand of God"!) just four years after the Falklands war. He went on to lift the trophy for his country. And became a legend. Maradona's later life was often marred by controversy, addiction and ill-health, but for the thousands of Argentines who took to the streets to bid him farewell on Thursday his status was never in question. The idea of calling for three days of national mourning for an ex-footballer may seem an anathema to some, but the depth of emotion Maradona engendered is best captured by one commentator who summed up Maradona's "goal of the century";
"Maradona has the ball, two mark him, he touches the ball. The genius of world football dashes to the right and leaves the third and is going to pass to Burruchaga. It's still Maradona! Genius! Genius! Genius! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Gooooooooooal! Gooooooooooal! I want to cry! Dear God! Long live football! Gooooooooooal! Diegoal! Maradona!
"It's enough to make you cry, forgive me. Maradona, in an unforgettable run, in the play of all time. Thank you, God, for football, for Maradona, for these tears, for this, Argentina 2, England 0."
No wonder they loved him!