The credit crunch has caught up with corporate Britain. Two examples on Wednesday show how far the impact has spread beyond the banking sector. Shares in Taylor Wimpey lost almost half their value after the UK’s largest housebuilder by volume said that it had failed to secure a cash injection to repair its balance sheet. Marks and Spencer, the retail heavyweight, saw its share price drop by more than one-fifth in response to a profit warning. It is a moment to send shivers down the spine of UK plc.

Though each of the two groups has contributed to its own woes, their news is part of a broader bleak picture. The credit squeeze hit last summer, but only now is a range of companies acknowledging that falling property prices and weak consumer demand are taking a toll.