Property developers were among the sharpest decliners on Thursday as the FTSE took no support from the Bank of England’s unexpectedly aggressive rate cut.

Hammerson sank 9.4 per cent to 715p and British Land was down 6.3 per cent at 630p after Morgan Stanley forecast a further 42 per cent fall for the UK majors. The broker also questioned why British groups, unlike their US peers, are not required to disclose debt covenants.