The chancellor increased his target for sales of government-owned assets from £30bn to £48bn. This includes buildings, land and government-owned companies, such as Qinetiq which fetched £350m last year.

The Ministry of Defence has disposed of £231m of property and Chelsea Barracks is up for sale at more than £500m. Last year Hudson House, an office used by Network Rail, was sold for £12m.

The Financial Times