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Mr Shaw said he expected inflation to come sooner or later due to the Monetary Policy Committee's move to stimulate the UK economy through quantitative easing.

With this in mind, he said there were clear signals the UK property market was bottoming and that yields were starting to stabilise.

"It is generally acknowledged that quantitative easing is likely to trigger inflation over the medium term," he said. "Tangible assets will, therefore, be particularly important going forward, and income will be the key component of returns as investors seek to hedge against this risk.

"Portfolios with a high, stable and secure income stream are likely to outperform over the next 2-3 years, which is a benefit commercial property as an asset class can offer."

While the property market and yields on prime properties have continued to fall over the past 12 months, Mr Shaw said the rate of decline in capital values had slowed markedly and that there were signs a bottom was being reached for select stocks.

The Standard Life Office complex on Lothian Road in Edinburgh, for example, has attracted several bids and is reported to have exchanged at £55m, a net initial yield of 6.5 per cent.

Mr Shaw said: "There are signs of interest for better-quality stocks, and yields for certain tiers of prime stock appear to be stabilising. That said, further rises in all property yields remain likely in the short term."

To maximise income in his property fund, Mr Shaw said he had been working with tenants and external consultants to secure lease renewals and minimise vacancies.

"Careful scrutiny of the financial strength of our tenants has ensured a low level of vacancy in our property fund," he added.