Life in the fast lane at Canary Wharf show
Time for a mid-life crisis? Thinking about trading in for a younger model? You’re in luck! Motorexpo holds its 20th annual free-for-all car show in Canary Warf next week. From Monday, workers in the financial village even get a chance to drool over their dream car before showing off to their friends by test driving it around the Canary Wharf estate. Footfall is expected to exceed 410,000 this year, as Motorexpo will tease financiers with Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Jaguars. Hot wheels to look out for include the Lamborghini Aventador, the Ferrari 458 Speciale and the Jaguar XE, all making their UK debut next week.
▪ “Sorry” may be the hardest word, but trust is slipping off the tongue faster than ever. It’s use in company documents has risen more than eight-fold in the past decade, according to a study by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) alongside Robert Phillips, author of “Trust me, PR is dead”. The two argue that the focus on trust is not always backed by corporate action. Phillips said: “Trust often spoken is trust rarely earned.” In annual reports of FTSE 100 companies over the last decade, mention of the T-word rose from 38 to 317. The phrase “building trust” appeared just once in 2005, in a single annual report; in 2013 it was mentioned 18 times. Phillips argues that banks would be better to try earning trust rather than talking about it – by adopting the John Lewis Partnership employee ownership model, ceasing extravagant bonuses, and charging retail banking customers.
▪ In an age where street-food reigns supreme in the City, it’s a relief to know you can still find a decent meal for over £1,000. Today, fine art aficionados Christie’s announces plans to host a series of dinners for its clientele of high net-worth wine buffs. The auction house is delivering three slap-up meals to loyal bidders from October to December. Prices range from £1,300 per-head to £1,500 for its “1945 Vintage dinner”, which will pour out 60-year old vino – older than some of the business’s customers. Stephen Hancock, a director at Wittingtons Investments, who has been to the event before, said: “They are awesome. Sometimes there’s an owner of a fancy Chateau to talk you through the tasting. They hold them in their fancy boardroom in King Street.” So in spite of the 1945 vintage timeline, there’s clearly no post-war rationing expected here!