Owner of Langham estate secretly buys Shaftsbury stake That in itself might not be enough to cause frostiness. Bickell was commenting as the property company unveiled a stonking set of annual results, with a £426m jump in the value of its estate to £2.6bn. Maybe Lee, an experienced property investor, has dismissed recent warnings that the capital's red-hot market has reached the top and thinks shares in Shaftesbury are a great way to profit from London's growth. He wouldn't be the only one - Invesco recently increased its stake in the company to more than 11pc. Lee hasn't said why he is stakebuilding, and, for all Bickell's diplomacy, his rival's silence must be irritating. But what could truly cause a neighbourly fallout is if the Hong Kong tycoon launches a takeover bid, as several dealmakers expect him to. Shaftesbury is sitting on a pile of mature assets, so some analysts think now would be a good time for the company to offload chunks of its estate or even sell up altogether. Asked if a bid would be welcomed, Bickell said: "I think you would have to ask him what his intentions are. It's not for us to speculate. Like two neighbours who peek through the fence at each other, perhaps they both secretly just long to be closer. Ian Cheshire has signed off as chief executive of Kingfisher, the DIY giant, after six years at the helm. He steps down next month and has no new job lined up, but already speculation is mounting as to where he will end up. Andy Higginson became chairman of Morrisons and Mike Coupe took the top job at Sainsbury's, but there is still one big post available - the Tesco chairmanship. Despite Archie Norman, the ITV chairman, and retail veteran, privately maintaining he isn't in the running, many in the City still see him as a favourite for the role. Cheshire, a highly-regarded retailer, has yet to be mentioned in connection with the Tesco job. That may change in the coming weeks.