BUNHILL

THE fIRST the staff of the Institute of Directors knew of their new-found stardom was when they opened their papers on Tuesday and found that their headquarters was to be one of the main attractions in the Legoland leisure park due to be opened ne ar Windsor next year.

The simple explanation is that the tweely titled "Miniland" is to include a number of buildings redolent of "London grandeur", and the IoD building was singled out along with the Tower of London - and the new office block above Charing Cross station.

Actually, the Lego people could have done worse. The IoD was one of the best buildings designed by John Nash in his grandiose plans for Regent Street. For over a century, it was home to the United Services Club until it was bought by the IoD in the 1970s.