Even the Duke of Westminster is being hurt by the recession. Grosvenor, his property portfolio, reported today that it made a £593.9m (€ 669.3) pre-tax loss in 2008, wiping out a profit of £524m in 2007. To weather the storm the firm intends to expand in Asia, according to its chief executive.

The Duke, who owns all the best bits of the Monopoly board including most of Mayfair from Park Lane to New Bond Street, may not be too concerned as assets were down just 7.4% to £2.8bn.