MIPIM THING OF THE WEEK
HYPERBOLE… Everybody’s been falling over themselves to praise Manchester’s impressive pavilion, with perhaps the most fulsome praise coming from Bruntwood head honcho Chris Oglesby. He introduced Wednesday’s Circle Square session by enthusing “The moment I walked under that Manchester arch, the hairs on my neck stood up.” Calm down Chris, it’s not the Arc de Triomphe.
PLUG… Mike Moran, Scouser, ex-soldier and chief executive of Proton Partners International, closed his excellent session on the £35m Rutherford Cancer Centre announced for Knowledge Quarter Liverpool with a plea from way out of left field: “I’m putting on the European Taekwondo Championships at the Echo Arena, 27 to 30 May – please do come along.” Beats the darts, in our view.
STAND IN… Liverpool’s investment dinner was a good old bash, with *reaches for Big Book of Cliché* a “great buzz around the room”. With mayor Joe Anderson absent through illness, Max Steinberg hosted with aplomb, even demonstrating exquisite comic timing in delivering a couple of racy jokes – only to be matched in this endeavour, to nobody’s great surprise, by guest speaker John Barnes. At least JB wasn’t asked to do the World in Motion rap…
BLOXHAM OUTFIT… Tres bien, Tom.
BUSINESS CARD… Loving your style Monsieur Vogt.