Metro, Germany's biggest retailer, has cancelled the €3bn ($3.5bn) sale of its property portfolio after a 12-month auction, angering its adviser Lazard as well as the rival bidders who clubbed together to limit the due diligence costs of the transaction, which had run into millions of euros.

Metro has blamed the prohibitive tax structure associated with German real estate, but sources close to the deal say that the Metro board was divided over whether to sell the assets at all. One source said: "Metro has known about the tax implications for years. In the final analysis, it could not get agreement across the company to commit to the sale."