Property investment and development company Capital & Counties (Capco), which was scarred by Brexit in 2016 and now by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, has opted not to declare a final dividend as the value of its coveted property shrunk, underscoring the challenging operating environment in the UK.

Capco, which was spun out of the late businessman and philanthropist Donald Gordon’s Liberty International, owns the iconic UK retail development Covent Garden, the value of which has plunged 27% to £1.8bn in the year to end-December, as many customers stay at home due to fear of contracting the deadly virus...