The problems in the commercial property sector continued last week as British Land posted a £3.9 billion annual pre-tax loss, more than doubling the £1.56 billion last year.
 
The commercial property giant has written off over £3.2 billion from its portfolio, following a 28% drop in asset values.
 
British Land’s new chief executive Chris Grigg, who took over from Stephen Hester when he was drafted in to take over from Sir Fred Goodwin at Royal Bank of Scotland last year, remains hopeful about the firm’s future, saying: “We saw underlying profits at £268 million, which I think is a very strong performance under the circumstances. Our performance has shown real resilience. Our asset valuation has declined in line, but we have benefited from actions we have taken to mitigate the impact of market dislocation.”
 
Analysts are worried that the large losses being announced by property companies will further affect banks exposed to the retail property market. 

Jonathan Jackson, an analyst at Killick & Co, said: "Even when the market bottoms out, we are concerned the recovery will be very subdued as the banks look to unwind their property books.”