TV presenter Phil Spencer has said his property search company had been forced to downsize because of a slump in the housing market.

The Channel 4 property expert said his company, Garrington, had shut down its office in Knutsford, Cheshire, and made two members of staff redundant.

Phil told the Press Association that, “The property market has endured a 60% fall in activity over the last 12 months.”

He added, “There is no business on earth that could cope with a 60% fall in activity and not have to seriously review their business.

“The downturn in the housing market has been far faster than anyone could have anticipated. It hasn’t been great for quite a while but it has got significantly worse.”

He also said that although Garrington had a number of “good clients in the Cheshire area”, the company hadn’t been able to negotiate good prices on properties that are up for sale.

“It has been very hard to convince vendors that their house is not as valuable as they would like to think. That’s the reason we haven’t been doing deals,” he said.

Phil said a property search service would continue to operate in the north- west of the country but without the Cheshire-based office.