The pairing worked together on the Broadgate complex in London in the eighties where Lipton headed up developer Stanhope and Rogers was the co-founder and construction director.

Together they earned a reputation as a new breed of progressive  property developer building public art into scheme and forging fresh approaches to large-scale development.

This included introducing fast-track construction and construction management techniques in the 1980s.

The new firm Lipton Rogers will now seek to raise cash this year to fund future projects.

Lipton told the Times: “Growth is tough at the moment, and I am a great believer in listening to the market.

“The action is in places where traditionally we have not had to look, such as the technology, media and telecoms sector, where consumers don’t want plain glass boxes for offices.

“It is in the tough times like this that the property market gets innovative. We have to think about new ways of doing things, and large and complicated projects are our bag.”

Lipton will continue to maintain links with Chelsfield where he worked in recent years.