Stephen Hester was not the first choice to become chief executive of British Land when the post came up for grabs three years ago. The FTSE 100 property developer had given its blessing to the arrival of Philip Yea to take over the running of the company from its founder Sir John Ritblat - who was to remain as chairman – only to see its first-choice candidate jump ship at the last moment for the top job at 3i, the private equity firm.

Fortunately for British Land, the banking group Abbey, where Mr Hester, 46, was chief operating officer, had just accepted a takeover offer from Banco Santander.

Mr Hester bumped into Sir John at the Cipriani hotel in Venice, where both were holidaying with their families. By the end of his Venetian vacation, Mr Hester knew that he wanted the British Land job and the board quickly agreed.

Until yesterday, Mr Hester’s strategic vision for British Land has proceeded almost without a hitch. Since March 2005, the company has sold off £5.8 billion of older property profitably, leaving its gearing – loans to underlying value of assets – at 41 per cent, its lowest levels since 1995.

The strong balance sheet has allowed Mr Hester to start new developments and achieve better returns. He has started a slew of speculative developments of huge City office blocks, several of which have prelet ahead of completion.

The withdrawal of Meadowhall from sale is Mr Hester’s first disappointment at British Land, but he is unlikely to give up completely on the deal.

Contemporaries from Oxford, where he was president of the Tory Reform Group, recall his determination to get a first – a target he achieved. His first job was as personal assistant to the chairman at Credit Suisse First Boston, before becoming the bank’s youngest managing director and later group finance director.

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