Songbird Estates, the owner of more than half of Canary Wharf in London, gave warning yesterday that it was not immune to the global credit crisis after revealing that the value of its property fell by 4.3 per cent in the second half of last year.

The company added that valuers were likely to write down further its properties in the first half of this year as weakness in the global financial markets forces a slowdown for commercial property in the UK.

The market value of Songbird’s property portfolio at December 31 stood at £7.3 billion, down from £7.5 billion at June 30, although up 4.8 per cent on a year ago.

The company said that the quality of its buildings gave it confidence that demand for them would not diminish, thus averting any threat to rental income.

Songbird’s net asset value fell 1.4 per cent to £2.3 billion over the 12 months, while pretax profits slumped to £182 million from £884.1 million.

The company, which is backed by Morgan Stanley, said: “The challenging market conditions experienced in the second half of 2007 have continued into the first three months of 2008 but the high quality of our assets, the low level of vacancy and focus on active asset management mean we look to the future with confidence.”

However, it will abandon all speculative projects involving building properties before tenants are found. The development of a new London office for Bear Stearns, the troubled American investment bank being bought by JPMorgan, will go ahead.

John Garwood, company secretary, said that 2008 would be difficult but he expected rents to remain at a similar level for the next two years, adding that the group was in a “remarkably strong position”.

Only 0.4 per cent of the company’s properties at Canary Wharf are vacant and its average lease runs for 18.7 years.

Mr Garwood said that even if jobs were lost in the financial services industry, demand for properties at Canary Wharf would remain high because banks had “crammed people into their buildings” in the past and would simply spread out.

There was now a consensus among property valuers that prices would continue to fall at least through the first half of this year, he said.

Valuers have slashed the worth of assets held by property groups since last summer, taking the view that a less buoyant financial services industry would depress demand.

However, one City analyst suggested last night that valuers had taken too much off property and that Songbird, in particular, was in a “pretty solid position” because of the length of its leases.

However, he said commercial property shares would continue to suffer from concerns over the economy. In the coming decade the Canary Wharf estate should be boosted by Crossrail, the rail line that will link West and East London.

A station at Canary Wharf will be built by the company. As well as making it easier for the 93,000 people employed at Canary Wharf to get to work, the new train link will also boost the area’s appeal as a retail destination.

With 740,000 sq ft of retail space, Canary Wharf is the second-largest shopping centre within the M25, and the group said that it aimed to expand further this year.

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