Figures from CB Richard Ellis show there are 107 senior lenders that have a commercial real estate loan book in the UK.

But of these only 69 are still actively lending with the remaining 38 having pulled out since 2007.

The situation is expected to get worse in the next year when the introduction of the new Basel III rules hits which will require banks to hold more capital against loans.

CBRE said loans from almost all types of lenders will decrease and become substantially more expensive in 2011.

Of the 69 lenders open to business in the UK, CBRE says that a number are lending only cautiously and most are employing conservative criteria against which they assess opportunities.

Natale Giostra, head of European debt advisory at CBRE Real Estate Finance, said: “There are lots of lenders with appetite to lend, but they are being very selective and there will be a lot of cherry-picking in the loans they are willing to make.

“There is no one bank that is willing to offer every type of loan now.

“Whereas before, if you were a UK borrower, you would go to Royal Bank of Scotland for everything, or if you were Irish you went to Anglo Irish, now borrowers need to cherry-pick themselves and approach specific banks with specific types of deals.”