The kids are finally all back to school, the weather is progressively getting worse and a member of the Cabinet, this time Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson, has shown a staggering level of sporting incompetence by incorrectly mixing up 6'5" rugby international, Maro Itoje, and 5'9" football star, Marcus Rashford. Here are five quick fire questions from The Weekly to enjoy on your Sunday morning. Good luck!
Questions:
1. CBRE released their August Monthly Index on Wednesday. Capital values across all UK Commercial Property increased by 1.1% in August, with rental values growing 0.2%. The Retail sector, propped up by Retail Warehouses, saw increased capital growth of 1.1% over the month, while All Offices, surprisingly, saw capital values increase by 0.3%. Less of a surprise were Industrials' capital values which grew 2.3%, with industrial rents growing 0.5%. The monthly total return for All Property was 1.6%, but do you know what the total return has been for All UK Commercial Property in the year to date?
2. With standing room only on the Tube, queues at lunchtime in sandwich shops and busy streets, there was a genuine feeling this week that life in the City of London was getting back to some form of ‘normal’. Technology company, Metrikus who monitor office occupancy rates across the UK, reckon that during the week commencing 23rd August, workplace occupancy hit 68% of their pre-lockdown baseline, and this rose even further to 73% during the week commencing 30th August. What percentage of Metrikus' pre-lockdown baseline were back in the office last week?
3. Swale Borough Council found themselves in hot water this week after various planning applications were accidentally rejected or accepted as an office junior thought that they were completing dummy decision notices for a website test! Two applications to demolish separate pubs were both approved, with puzzling responses of “why am I doing this, am I the chosen one?” and “incy wincy spider.” Unfortunately for the Council, legal advice has confirmed that the decisions are legally binding and will cost them at least £8,000 to overturn through judicial review. Can you guess the reason given for why an application relating to an animal sanctuary was turned down?
4. Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford yesterday afternoon for his first game for Manchester United since re-joining the club from Juventus. Even though kit suppliers such as Adidas, Nike and Puma usually get 85-90% of shirt sale revenue rumours suggest that total shirt sales reached £187 million over his first week back, with Manchester United earning £13.1 million in commission, more than the initial £12.9 million transfer fee! Do you know how many goals Ronaldo scored in Serie A last season?
5. Jeremy Clarkson, best known for his tenure on Top Gear and more recently the host of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' found himself in Chadlington Memorial Hall, Chipping Norton on Thursday evening as locals expressed their irritancy at increased traffic and disruption caused by visitors to his farm shop, Diddly Squat. The shop has been made famous through Amazon Prime’s show, 'Clarkson’s Farm' (which The Weekly would highly recommend watching). Without giving anything away for those who haven't yet seen it, the show follows Clarkson's attempts to run his 1,000-acre Cotswold farm. After a year of sheep farming, do you know how much profit Clarkson’s farm generated from his flock?
£10,054
£3,432
£143
Answers:
1. 8.5% Total Return (and 4.3% over the last 3 months.)
2. 87% of their pre-lockdown baseline. This is the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
3. The reason given for the application being rejected was “Your proposal is whack”.
4. 29 goals.
5. C: £143.