The portfolio includes the UK's tallest building

The founder of British property company Canary Wharf Group has admitted considering a bid for the firm.

Paul Reichmann, Canary Wharf's chairman, said he might form a consortium to make an offer together with other potential bidders.

Mr Reichmann already controls about 80% of Canary Wharf's shares, which owns Britain's tallest building in its London Docklands complex.

Reports have suggested other potential bidders include the Canadian conglomerate Brascan, and US investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Brascan has already built up a stake of about 10% in the group.

Commercial hit

Some analysts have warned, however, that no bid at all may materialise.

"There's been no pick-up in demand at Canary Wharf," said Jeremy Anagnos, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.

Commercial property firms have suffered from low occupancy and falling rental values in recent months as the global economic downturn stings their financial clients.

The slowdown is the latest dip in the group's turbulent history. It was founded in boom of the 1980s but hit hard by the stock market crash of 1987 and had to be bailed out by a group of banks.

It was then sold to a consortium of international property investors, led by Mr Reichmann and including the Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.

Turbulent past

Canary Wharf enjoyed a turnaround in the late 1990s when the upmarket development of London's Docklands and the arrival of some high-value clients, including Fleet Street newspapers, boosted its fortunes.

More recently, however, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center dampened enthusiasm for skyscrapers.

At the same time, a slowdown in the fortunes of financial firms has meant a tightening of belts for some of Canary Wharf's biggest clients.