Stephen Hester, the boss of British Land and the soon-to-be chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, has called the bottom of the property market, claiming it will be “some time next year”. This is quite unusual for Hester, who is normally cautious in his pronouncements. Still, if the company you're leaving is in that market and the one you're going to is in it too, and the people who hired you also have an interest in another bank, HBOS, that has a huge property exposure, why not?

In his Property Week interview, Hester is far more guarded about the choice of his successor at British Land. “We have developed a very good management team. There are some internal candidates but very few people externally would not want the job if it was offered to them.” Three inside names have been mentioned — Graham Roberts, Andrew Jones and Tim Roberts — but Hester doesn't exactly laud them to the heavens. That seems to suggest that the pick could come from elsewhere. Three outsiders are mooted: Jamie Ritblat, son of Sir John Ritblat (Hester's redoubtable predecessor at British Land) and boss of Delancey, the George Soros-backed company that has performed well despite the credit crunch; Toby Courtauld from Great Portland Estates and Mike Hussey of Land Securities. It's unlikely British Land investors would countenance a Ritblat taking the reins again; it would look too much like a job for the boy. Hussey is in line to get his own show at Land Securities when it demerges. Courtauld is the favourite but, bear in mind, Hester himself came from banking not property.

* Don't all rush at once. The book commemorating the building of the tallest tower in the world, the “Burj Dubai Opus”, is also the tallest book in the world at 14 feet high.

Sheppard shows his mettle

Fortunes are still being made. Step forward Phillip Sheppard, boss of Liverpool-based European Metal Recycling. Last year, EMR pushed its profits up 14.4% to £119 million on a much higher £2.2 billion turnover on the back of insatiable Chinese demand. These sort of figures make the Sheppards Britain's first billionaire recycling family. It's all a far cry from Steptoe and Son.

* Back in the last recession, Stoy Hayward was the auditor of famous failures with links to frauds like Asil Nadir's Polly Peck and Roger Levitt's financial empire. So it should come as no surprise to learn that Stoys, which has since branded itself with the prefix BDO, is the first auditor to come under investigation in this recession over a whiffy major audit. The Accountancy and Actuarial Disciplinary Board has launched a probe into its “conduct” in its auditing of the crashed airline and West Ham sponsor XL Airways.

* Golly. In last year's Estates Gazette Rich List Simon Halabi was estimated to have a £3 billion fortune. This time, the low-key Halabi is nowhere to be seen. Has he really lost £3 billion?

Sir Fred, signing off on a Frank note...

That Sir Fred Goodwin farewell-to-staff karaoke performance in full:
 
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friends, you've made that clear
I've read Your Feedback, that is certain

My pension pot is full
And now I'm on retirement highway
I'm much richer than you
I did it my way

Regrets, I've had a few
Like ABN, which we won't mention
I've left you in the poo
Your share options beyond redemption

I planned each charted course
My helicopter's on the byway
I'll miss the chats with Kirsty Wark
I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But I put on, when there was doubt,
My cheesy grin, my winsome pout
I faced it all, I spouted bull
And did it my way
Your patience I have tried
Tiers 1 and 2 sent you to boozing
And now, my smile is wide
I find it all so amusing

To think I earned all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
So long, all you suckers
I did it my way

For what is a man, what has he got?
In my case, a huge pension pot
You're civil servants, how's that feel?
To Gordon Brown you all will kneel
From one Scotch fool to another tool
I did it my way!

Savills' travails weigh heavy

A baptism of fire for financial PR house Tulchan. No sooner had it won the Savills contract from Citigate Dewe Rogerson than Savills rushed out its first-ever profits warning. So just how bad are things for Savills? “In my 28 years, this is the worst I have seen it,” says chief executive Jeremy Helsby. “I don't know how it compares with the Great Depression, I'm not that old yet, but I'm beginning to feel like it.”
So, very bad.

* Is housebuilder Taylor Wimpey about to join the 99% Club of companies whose share value has sunk 99% from their peak? In April 2007, they were at 518p. Now they are down 95%, having hit a low of 13.5p this month.

* The younger Miliband has expanded into the media vacuum vacated by his brother David. Ed tells us an 80% cut in our carbon emissions, rather than the previous target of 60%, is “tough but doable” by 2050. The Renewable Energy Foundation, which despite its name sees its role as exploding the myths surrounding a rosy green power future, says this amounts to composted biomass. They say he is “out of his depth” and doesn't know what he's talking about...