Nicoll Financial Solutions Limited

The commercial property industry fears a sharp rise in distressed asset sales that could damage a recovery in the market, according to a new survey. Oliver Gilmartin, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which conducted the survey, warned distressed asset sales are a "thunderous cloud which overhangs the market". In the UK, 42pc more property professionals fear a rise in distressed asset sales in the second quarter of 2010 than a fall, compared to a net balance of 14pc for the first quarter. The most severe increases are forecast in the US, Middle East and Ireland, where every member surveyed forecast a rise in distressed sales following the launch of the government's National Asset Management Agency (Nama).