With commercial property values still in freefall and property funds suffering savage liquidity problems, who would have thought that some of the best-performing stocks on a besieged London market would be the property companies.

The commercial property sector has yielded total returns of more than 5 per cent so far this year, supported by impressive performances from British Land, up 9.2 per cent, Hammerson, 12.2 per cent, and Brixton, up 12 per cent.