But significantly chairman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan said:' the reduction in value was as a result of a fall in market rents and estimates of future rents for offices rather than a shift in yields.'

He said that tenant demand in the core West End had fallen markedly in the final quarter of 2001, and the City of London and Canary Wharf have also now begun to feel the effects of this weakening trend. Overall, Benchmark estimates London's top office rents have fallen 10% since June 2001. And he warned: 'Over 50% of the vacant office space is tenant controlled rather than landlord controlled, which may lead to further reductions in rents, as existing occupiers try to reduce their costs, although there is currently little transactional evidence of this.'

Despite this hostile climate, Benchmark turned in respectable results with pre-tax profits of £9.6 million for the six months to 31 December 2001, against £14.6 million including a £6.5 million exceptional item last time. Net asset value per share fell marginally from 379.9p to 373.6p.