Many people are hoping that the decline in property prices will allow them to pick up a bargain. Sol Zakay, 55, is one. The billionaire property entrepreneur has emerged as a bidder for the £800 million property portfolio put up for sale by the stricken property-to-banking company Dawnay, Day.

Mr Zakay has built up an estimated £1.5 billion fortune with his brother Eddie, 57, through judicious property investments over more than two decades. The brothers' Topland company owns a property portfolio worth an estimated £4 billion and, after selling its 50 per cent stake in a £950million sale-and-leaseback joint venture with Tesco last year, it is cash-rich in what is increasingly a buyer's market. It is thought to have a war chest of about £1 billion available for acquisitions.

Guy Naggar and Peter Klimt, the businessmen behind Dawnay, Day, will probably be forced to sell the portfolio that they have built up for less than its £800 million value, as they try to keep other parts of the business afloat.

As chairman and chief executive, Sol Zakay is responsible for the sophisticated property finance structure that helped to build Topland, while his brother does more of the day-to-day running of the company. The Israeli-born Mr Zakay made a lot of his fortune through sale-and-leaseback deals with supermarkets, including a landmark deal with Marks & Spencer in 2001. In recent years, he has branched out, starting projects in India and opening an office in Germany.

Mr Zakay appears to be bullish about the commercial property market. In a rare interview, he said: “Doomsday scenarios are haunting the market and the perception is that private property companies are in trouble. But the reality for some of us is altogether different. We knew the market would turn and we're ready for it.

Times Recommends

• Food prices rise 8.3% on soaring fish and meat
• Car sales crash as economy hits skids
• House prices fall but Bank leaves rates on hold