The outgoing chief executive of Britain's biggest commercial property developer and landlord, Land Securities, has said that "retail is alive and well" in Britain.

Francis Salway told the Today programme's Simon Jack that there has been a significant change in retail which includes pressure on consumers and the impact of internet sales but strong retailers are only taking new units in the best locations in the best cities so it is picking up.

His legacy in the job at Land Securities includes One New Change in the City of London, Cabot Circus shopping centre in Bristol, and Park House on London's Oxford Street.

He described the financial downturn in 2008 as "a very tough period".

He explained how Land Securities sold some assets during the downturn and went against the grain by using fresh capital for development because "nobody else was building" which he admitted was sometimes "a little difficult and a little lonely".

On the Chancellor's recent Budget, Mr Salway said that "making the UK economy competitive internationally really matters" so implementing tax cuts for businesses is important.

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