The plummeting property market claimed a host of celebrity victims yesterday when companies whose investors include Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir David Frost and Grant Bovey collapsed into administration.

The Times reports that aAim, a £3bn property investment company backed by HBOS and chaired by Sir David, has gone into administration. It is feared that shareholders will lose all their investments.

AAim spent billions of pounds on properties in Britain and mainland Europe, before the market fell last summer. Property prices in Britain have dropped by as much as 35 per cent since then. AAim had a number of well-known sponsors. Sir Alex, the Manchester United manager, was still listed as a founder shareholder and investor last night.

The Times