Amanda Lamb, the television property guru, and Rick Edwards, the broadcaster and writer, will host a national competition offering one lucky winner the chance to live rent free for a year in the country’s most expensive neighbourhood.
The Selling houses with Amanda Lamb presenter will be putting members of the public who want to live in the Central London penthouse apartment through their paces on April 27th to celebrate the opening of Studio B, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ new flagship London store.
People wanting to take part just have to turn up on the day, when they will face a general knowledge round and complete cooking, gardening and DIY challenges in the store to make sure they have the skills to look after their own home.
Studio B, an innovation lab designed to solve the banking issues of tomorrow, is also pledging to match fund money the winner manages to save during the year to put towards a deposit on their own home (up to £2,000 per month).
Television presenter Rick Edwards will be entertaining the public when he comperes the competition in the striking Kensington High Street store.
But it’s not all about laughs. Studio B is staging the competition to draw attention to one of the greatest financial challenges facing younger generations. A YouGov survey for Studio B found that:
· Almost a quarter (23%) of renters aged 18-40 never expect to be able to afford a deposit on a home· Almost one in three Londoners (30%) aged 18-40 do not save any money in an average month
· The majority (59%) cite high rent as the single biggest barrier to saving more
Studio B’s mission is to find innovative solutions to the big financial challenges people face. The competition to celebrate its launch will give one lucky winner the chance to live rent free for a year in the stunning penthouse apartment just five minutes’ walk from the store.
At its heart is an innovation lab, where people from all walks of life will be invited to work with industry partners to create ground-breaking solutions to their money matters. The products and solutions they produce in areas such as voice and facial recognition technology will be tested in-store on bank customers.
Helen Page, Group Innovation & Marketing Director, said: “Our research lays bare the huge challenge people starting out on their own face and this competition will give a lucky winner a huge helping hand, putting them on track to own their own home.
“This is the whole ethos of Studio B. It’s an open space where we can engage with the next generation of customers to design the next generation of banking.”Amanda Lamb said: “This is going to be a really special event. I’d love the chance to live in the Studio B flat and am delighted to play my part in making this dream come true for someone during the competition.”
Rick Edwards said: "Housing and home ownership pose one of the big social challenges of our time. It’s great that Studio B is actively working to help Generation Rent overcome the hurdles they're facing."