Finish line for tortoise to beat critical hares is a year away

Hammerson chief executive David Atkins is clearly more tortoise than hare. In fact the 43-year old surveyor was known as "plodder Dave" by colleagues in a former life. This may help explain the overly-cautious tone he took yesterday with the City and the media. Atkins did not win over converts by telling the world that it is too early to start developing in the UK without pre-lets and, anyway, France looks rather more alluring than Britain. He has clearly not been well-advised on the joys of ambiguity.

Brokers Collins Stewart issued a "sell" note saying Hammerson "lacked conviction". This morning the Wall Street Journal reminded the world that the business sold £780m of property at the bottom of the market and does not seem to know what to do with the £548m raised in a rights issue from shareholders. "Whether this play it safe approach will be sufficient to keep it ahead of rivals' remains to be seen" says the WSJ.

For those wondering why the European edition of the WSJ takes an interest, it is worth remembering that former Times City editor - and one-time property journalist - Patience Wheatcroft is the formidable editor. For those wondering if being a tortoise is better than being a hare right now, the answer to that will only become clear this time next year. If the market has soared, Atkins stock will slump. If the market has slumped, his stock will soar. For what it is worth, Hammerson's stock price slumped ever so slightly yesterday.