I met Nick when he joined the Housing Corporation in 1993. I had started my eight year stint there in 1991. We became good friends. When he left the 'Corpy' we stayed in touch. We had a lot in common. His love of Real Ale; his interest in current affairs and the Labour Party in particular; his passion for genealogy and archeology - the list goes on. We met regularly when he lived in London. The Rose and Crown in South Ealing was a favourite haunt and The Two Chairmen (from memory) in St James's'.

When I was made redundant from the Audit Commission in 2011 Nick approached me to help out with a new project - the creation of The Centre for Housing Investment Policy (CHIP). Nick became its CEO and I was made a Director. I think the objective was to raise private finance for social housing but I was never quite sure.  This was typical Nick in his latter years. A great idea but limited follow through.  We did hold a couple of meetings with the Shadow Minister of Housing in Portcullis House in 2011/12 but the momentum for the project just ran out of steam.

Nick would tell me about other ventures with which he was involved but I was never quite sure how much substance there was behind his various schemes. He talked about theatre developments in the West End and exporting Real Ale to Russia and much more besides.  But Nick was never dull. He had an infectious laugh and a wicked sense of humour. I will miss him hugely. RIP Nick.