Debt-stricken Macquarie Office Trust sent shivers down the spines of investors in the listed property trust sector yesterday when it put out an operational update stating that it could only manage to get its banks to extend a $US74.5m ($108m) loan due in two days until March.

Besides fuelling concern that debt is going to be hard to refinance, the news appeared to contradict an earlier statement put out by the company on December 12, stating that an $800 million capital management initiative would cover all 2009 debt expiries and capital commitments.

The Australian