Management teams were in fine mood at the annual listed European real estate conference, although in truth few in the UK could claim much credit for having seen shares in the sector almost double in value from a low point in March.

Having done nothing much more than survive - albeit through almost £5bn of rights issues - property companies have been rewarded with an astonishing rally, first on relief, then on optimism about the nascent property recovery. The UK sector is now trading at a premium of 10-20 per cent to net asset value, meaning that the market is pricing in a dramatic bounce in capital values.