Could Jon Hunt be on the prowl for his old firm Foxtons?

A snippet in yesterday’s Telegraph City Diary suggests that this could be the case.

It says there is speculation that Hunt “might be in the market for buying back the estate agent he sold at the peak of the property bubble in 2007 after last week’s profit warning”.

The piece suggests he is considering taking the public company private again, “as it was on his watch”.

The Diary notes: “If the takeover was completely far-fetched, it would be easy for Mr Hunt to issue a denial. Instead, a spokesman conveyed the enigmatic message that the CEO of the Ocubis property fund ‘does not wish to comment’.

“Since Foxtons shares are currently trading at 70p under last year’s IPO price of 230p, after a ‘sharp and sudden’ slowdown in property prices, Diary says: watch this space.”

Well, rich people do sell high and buy back low – it is how they get rich.

Entrepreneurs also sometimes return to their old companies: the most notable example was Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple who left in 1985, returning when it was nearly bankrupt a year or so later.

But perhaps Hunt – who sold Foxtons for £370m just before the credit crunch – might not get his old company back as cheaply as he thinks?

After all, you might think that mere mention of his possible interest would have sent Foxtons’ shares zooming up yesterday.

Not so: they marked time.

Meanwhile, here is a very strange idea for a children’s Halloween dressing-up costume.

Inspired by the ‘terrors of the capital’, you apparently dress up your little treasure as an estate agent, complete with a Foxtons sale board.

Scary – or just plain weird?