Pre-tax profit was £1.78m in the year to the end of May, compared with £9.14m a year earlier. Turnover slipped 1.1 per cent to £115.27m.

Chairman Richard Fildes said that over the last 12 months the group has seen a “substantial” re-rating of the value of both commercial and residential property, which has affected not only the price of built stock but also development appraisal and land values.

During the second half of the year the group’s construction services division was affected by weakening demand and sharply increasing fuel prices. It said that since the year end it has seen no improvement, with business in the North and the Midlands showing the greatest decline.

It also said that the residential division had an “extremely” difficult year and that it too had seen no improvement since the end of the year.