Scotland’s commercial property market is still fragile and remains a difficult environment to work in, the new chair of the Scottish Property Federation has warned.

Developer Chris Stewart told the 460 real estate industry players attending the organisation’s annual dinner: "The Scottish Government needs to understand the fragility within our market and to create the policy framework required to ensure we continue to have a positive impact on the economy."

Fundamental issues to be addressed over the next 12 months include the review of the planning system, land reform, land and buildings transaction tax, the private rented sector, and potentially local tax reform.

"We will also be placing an emphasis on how international capital comes into Scotland and its importance to the property sector. We still don’t have a banking system that has fully recovered and we have a high dependency on that capital.

"Scotland is just one of a number of options for that investment – we have competition from other European countries like Ireland and Spain – because that capital has the ability to move."

He said the federation’s conference next March would be bringing in international financiers to talk about positioning Scotland globally to make sure we are seen as an attractive, cost effective, place to do business.

Stewart has worked in property investment and development for 20 years and specialises in complex city centre transformational projects. His company has interests across the residential, office, retail and hotel and leisure sectors.

Projects include an award-winning redevelopment of historic Advocate’s Close in Edinburgh’s Old Town, and the former RBS on the edge of St Andrew Square. He is the preferred developer for the former Glasgow City Council offices in the city’s George Street.