Paul Reichmann has stepped aside as chairman of Canary Wharf, the UK property group, to form a consortium to bid for his old company. Independent directors of Canary have already turned down offers valued at around £1.5bn (€2.2bn).

Reichmann's move follows rejection of two bids: one from a consortium led by investment bank Morgan Stanley and the other from Canadian conglomerate Brascan Group, which owns 9% of the company.