Welcome to the first Deloitte Real Estate Executive Report.

For a number of reasons we could not have picked a more interesting time in which to launch; over the last year, credit markets have experienced the worst turbulence for a generation; after several years of valuation growth, the property market is going through a period of contraction; the publicly listed property sector is out of favour and the changing taxation landscape is generating both opportunities and threats.  Against this backdrop, for our inaugural issue, we decided to take a closer look at the challenging relationship between our industry and the UK capital markets, with a view to anticipating the effects of recent events for both listed and private companies over the medium term.

In this report, we have asked Nick Ritblat, our Real Estate Strategic Adviser, his views on the best way for property companies to interact with the stock market.  Nick also shares his thoughts on the optimum business structure for launching a real estate company today.

One of the most significant stock market innovations in the UK over recent years, in relation to real estate, has been the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).  Inside we have asked tax partner Phil Nicklin to give a progress report on the REIT regime to date, and highlight our expectations for REITs going forward. 

Elsewhere, we have also reviewed other significant changes to the tax regime over recent Budgets and the risk implications to real estate companies in pulling off complex transactions.

Despite the seemingly endless tide of negative economic news in the media over the last few months, we have also seen some positive news flow recently, including data that shows activity in the securitisation market is increasing.  Many economic commentators see 2009 as the start of the recovery and, whilst acknowledging the downside risks, we share this cautious optimism over the medium term and look forward to an eventful period for our industry.

For further information, download our publication Real Estate Executive Report. (PDF, 1003KB)