Radical changes in the property investment market could lead to more capital targeted at the retail property sector.
With the Treasury again considering the creation of tax-transparent Real Estate Investment Trusts, indirect investment in property could take off. But Cazenoves managing director Richard Cotton told the Accessible Retail Conference that there was a lot that could be done to allow the existing vehicles - unit trusts and limited partnerships - to operate more efficiently.
Cotton, who has advised the Hercules Unit Trust as it has grown into a£2 billion behemoth with more than 60 investors, said the advent of screen-based trading in units will meet investors' demands for equality of information and price transparency.
Cotton also called for a reduction in the minimum unit size. The smallest available unit in a Jersey-registered property unit trust such as Hercules is£250,000. 'There are very few ways private investors can access the prime property investment market,' he said.
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