Why Stroll believes his "de-risked" Aston masterplan is feasible

Tread the streets of St James's and you echo the footsteps of the great and the good, the influencers and dealmakers, the movers and shakers of a corner of London which has accommodated the elite since Restoration times. At its heart, St James's Square; for at least two centuries one of London's most fashionable addresses until the arrival of gentlemen's clubs and – ugh, whisper it – commercial establishments prompted the aristocracy to up sticks for nearby Belgravia.

Brass plates by the sturdy doors of these imposing high-ceilinged edifices now allude to the present occupants' line of work. These are no longer houses, since 21st century commerce has no need of bedrest. Within, you will find businesses carrying opaque and anodyne titles, and specialising in such as merger arbitrage and special situations equity and fundamental bottom-up approaches to portfolio construction. Through these vestibules flows wealth to an order of decimal places by which a mere millionaire is a veritable beggar in comparison.