Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Philip Hobley, Knight Frank’s head of London offices, tells us about his career and the City’s comeback in this week’s Square Mile and Me

CV

• Name: Philip Hobley
• Job title: Head of London offices, Knight Frank
• Previous roles: Head of West End offices
• Age: 53
• Born: Chalfont St Giles
• Lives: West Berkshire
• Studied: BSc (Hons) Estate Management at Newcastle Poly
• Talents: Relentless energy and positivity
• Motto: Work hard and let the rest look after itself
• Biggest perk of the job? The first-class places you get to play a part in creating and leading an outstanding team
• Coffee order: White filter
• Cocktail order: A pint!
• Favourite book: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, a precursor to Ben Macintyre’s accounts of real-world incomprehensible imagination and bravery such as Operation Mincemeat

What was your first job?

I had two jobs on the go; a paper round and a breakfast waiter in the Moat House Hotel, where the football teams used to stay before the FA Cup Final. I served some real characters.

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