Minerva said that progress was being made on its protracted takeover by the development arm of the Dubai government as it revealed more than 40% had been wiped from its net asset value over the past year.

The company’s share price jumped on confirmation of talks, closing up 12p at 82.5p, but still well below the 160p offer made by Limitless, part of the state-owned Dubai World.

Minerva revealed a pre-tax loss of £269.2m in the 12 months to the end of June, compared with a profit last year of £16.2m, reflecting the sharp drop in the value of its property portfolio. Net asset value per share fell 43% to 187.7p.

Financial Times, The Times, Daily Telegraph