Its pest control business's operating profits edged up by 1.2 per cent to 32.6 million in what the group called 'challenging conditions'.

The group had deliberately chosen that stretch of river because of the challenging conditions after heavy rain and were not caught by surprise.

But possibly the most challenging conditions were in 1935.

Within property management, underlying revenues fell by almost 6 per cent because of inevitably challenging conditions in the sector.

The real differences became apparent when they were assessed under more challenging conditions.