Them & Us

Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon (Click to enlarge)

MP's property empire

A Tory MP has collected over Ł25 million of property in the past year and a half.

Nadhim Zahawi's purchases included a six-floor townhouse in swanky Belgravia. He also bought the land occupied by two London bank branches, a WH Smith's, and a former celebrity restaurant in Brighton.

Zahawi will earn hundreds of thousands a year in rent on top of his generous MP's wages and expenses. He also gets Ł20,125 a month from his directorship at Gulf Keystone, a UK-based oil company drilling in Kurdistan.

The millionaire YouGov founder has applied for planning permission on his Belgravia acquisition. He wants the three flats knocked through into one huge home. And a basement extension. And a swimming pool.

The Socialist can only imagine the pool will go in the basement, filled with all his cash, so he can dive into it from a height like Scrooge McDuck. That would explain why he needs the full six storeys.

Christmas loan sharks

Loan shark Smart-Pig.com made a special bid to ensnare young people with high-interest borrowing this Christmas.

The lender for students emailed round on 20 December. "We understand how hard it can be to juggle those expenses, especially near to Christmas!

"Therefore, we're just writing to say that you have up to Ł350 which you can apply for should you need a little help during this period."

Well shucks, Smart-Pig.com, we didn't know you cared! It's a real Christmas miracle, just like in 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Except, of course, the whip-round in It's a Wonderful Life came without strings. Smart-Pig.com can't run a business on warm fuzzies. So instead it charges a very reasonable 1,258% yearly interest and fees.

Thanks to Mary Finch for the Smart-Pig scoop

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