The day saw a steady fall in the stock following disappointment on the part of investors with the news of an 80% slump in pretax profits to £5 million ($8.1 million) and a 20% fall in net asset value to £5.63 ($9.10). The company blamed this partly on the special dividend of 64.27p per share and partially on a 82p per share fall in the net realisable value of the portfolio. The portfolio itself fell 5.4% in value to £3.1 billion ($5 billion).

But of particular concern to the wider industry, was the announcement that the group's vacancy rate has increased to 6.7% and several tenants are known to be subleasing space. The City had been hoping that Canary Wharf, one of the best performing quoted property companies. might have fared better in the worsening economic climate.

In a joint statement, Chairman Paul Reichmann and chief executive George Iacobescu said: "Although the challenges facing our company in today's marketplace are not without their difficulties, we believe our focus will achieve further progress for our shareholders."

The group has acquired several development sites on or near the estate which would add 5m sq ft of development in the future. In addition, the company is pressing ahead with plans to return cash to shareholders and half of this has been completed. Iacobescu added that the first half of the programme had been completed "against a backdrop of global political and economic uncertainty and reduced levels of confidence." But he added: "As the current phase moves towards completion we are looking towards the future phases of development with confidence.