European commercial property owners face a wave of complex debt refinancing and restructuring that pose a threat to the sector, according to bankers and industry groups.

Senior bankers and industry representatives in the UK used a meeting with the Bank of England in the summer to highlight the problems caused by billions of pounds worth of debt that needs to be refinanced or has breached banking agreements.

They are particularly concerned about the amount of European debt packaged commercial mortgage-backed securities, where restructuring has proved especially difficult and highlighted this issue to the central bank for the first time.

The group, which includes senior bankers and representatives from the British Property Federation, the RICS and the Investment Property Forum, believes the CMBS market remains important to the property sector.

Financial Times