While London’s rental market is arguably in a state of crisis, one man’s recent jubilation over his purchase of a disused staircase for £25,000 is not what you might expect.
At a recent auction the listing of a derelict four-storey stairwell – situated behind a Starbuck’s on a main road in Twickenham – was a sight even the man holding the gavel proclaimed not to witnessed in his 30 years of auctioneering.
But to 49-year-old Simon Squibb, his five-figure purchase of the unusual property was worth cheering about.
Mr Squibb is chief executive of the 75,000-strong online community Helpbnk, a platform designed to connect entrepreneurs and teach them to start businesses, while rewarding members for helping others with their aims.
The entrepreneur, who was inspired to set up the firm after lacking his own support network when homeless at the age of 15, said his mission is “to help other people’s dreams come true” – meaning it felt “symbolic to buy the only staircase for sale” at Tuesday’s auction.
“I want to turn this staircase into something that represents that anything is possible,” the north London-dwelling father-of-one told the BBC.
His optimism comes despite the fact that his team “haven't seen the building in person, don't know the legal implications and don't know if we can get the planning permission we need for it”. The stairwell was reportedly disconnected to the block of flats it used to serve following a redevelopment in 2016.
But according to a plan formulated “in the last 48 hours”, the businessman plans for each of the floors to house a different pop-up business.
The four-storey stairwell is situated off a high street in Twickenham— (Barnard Marcus)
“It might have a designer showcasing their new line of clothes on one floor, a coffee shop on another and a new restaurant at the top that is serving food for people to try,” he told the national broadcaster.
Mr Squibb believes the stairwell is “worth taking a risk” on, and said he had been “so determined to win it I would have kept on bidding”.
In several of the replies to a post about his plans on Instagram even prior to the purchase, people were already expressing interest in being involved in the project.
“I’d be interested in hosting a pop gallery of my photography work there,” wrote one user, while another said: “Can we put up an art exhibition raising awareness on mental health?”
Another merely joked: “Can I slide down the banisters?”
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Squibb added that “a lot of big businesses started in a garage, and so we’re starting in a stairwell”.
However, even if his plan for the stairwell does not pan out, Mr Squibb suggested he could still use it as “a hangout place for entrepreneurs”, adding: “What is important is that we are a part of the step-by-step journey of making dreams come true.”
