You know times are desperate when...

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And the current economic climate could definitely qualify as such.

According to one high-end property expert, the current credit crunch (are we using the 'R' word yet?) has led to an outbreak in what the industry calls "runners"- that is people who formerly worked in property looking to make a quick-buck by setting up a sale between two parties.

Rumours being circulated by such people at the moment include the sale of The Sheraton Park Tower, owned by Mahdi al-Jahir, and the Four Seasons in Canary Wharf-currently closed for refurbishment.

But one owner of luxury-end hotels was intrigued when one of these sharks approached him with a view to buying a four-star hotel in the capital.

Playing along, and undoubtedly wrestling with a smile that threatened to creep into the corners of his mouth, he resolved to obtain the particulars of the hotel in question.

The runner fluffed his way through some answers, but found he was no match for the hotel magnate's superior knowledge.

Hardly surprising, since the man in question was already the owner of the hotel...